


Pokemon Judgment and Devotion

by bladewielder05



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe, Character Death, Character Development, Developing Friendships, Drama, F/F, F/M, Friendship, M/M, Original Character(s), Romance, SYOC, Secret Identity, Secret Organizations, Worldbuilding
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-28
Updated: 2018-08-21
Packaged: 2019-04-07 13:39:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 34,868
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14082132
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bladewielder05/pseuds/bladewielder05
Summary: The rising thefts in Duewel cannot be ignored any longer. The solution? Send eighteen students on a journey to better themselves and stop the criminals from stealing every Pokémon. However they soon discover worse crimes than simple larceny. Violent Pokémon, twisted humans and raging gods make an already difficult mission impossible. How will they overcome these trials?





	1. World of Duewel

**Author's Note:**

> This is an SYOC from FF.net.

**It is said that through the intelligent judgment of one Pokémon and the passionate devotion of another, the region of Duewel came to be. It is an extremely large home to various kinds of people and Pokémon. Despite its size, the people and Pokémon have more than adapted Duewel with transportation centers and communication towers, allowing everybody to stay connected.**

**Places of Interest:**

· **Orsus City** : one of the largest cities in Duewel. Located to the left of the Connex Mountains, Orsus City is home of the renowned twin professors, Kane and Mary Hawthorn, and the Grand Festival for aspiring coordinators. It has Duewel's Kappa (10th) Contact Tower and the Alakazam Pokémon School.

· **Gelu Town** : a frigid place lying on the left side of Mount Par, the largest mountain of the Connex Mountains. The people here have grown used to the blistering winds and freezing temperatures. They often find it a bit difficult to deal with the warmer climates Duewel has to offer. An Abra Teleportation Center allows denizens to teleport to Manus Town and the Saevio Tunnel connects Gelu Town to Ustrine Town. It is home to Duewel's Epsilon (5th) Contact Tower and the ice gym headed by Mystral Torres.

· **Silex Town** : a rather fertile area protected by the steep cliffs of the Connex Mountains and Avius Ruins. Many researchers and archaeologists love Silex Town for its multiple tunnels and large assortment of libraries. Surrounding this town is the Rupe Desert. Years ago, construction workers attempted to build the failed Eta (7th) Contact Tower but to no avail. Nobody knows why the contact tower could never be brought online, but some scientists suspect that perhaps the Avius Ruins may have something to do with it. Silex Town houses the Rampardos Pokémon School and the rock gym headed by Piera Hilton.

· **Humut Town** : a dry, western-like town located on the left of the Connex Mountains. The surrounding Fervor Desert made the people of Humut Town gruff and rough. However, they aren't one for leaving weary travelers to their deaths in the horrible desert. They also hold contests for aspiring coordinators. Humut Town monitors Duewel's Zeta (6th) Contact Tower in the Fervor Desert and is home to the ground gym headed by Gaius Oakley.

· **Caeli City** : located on the left of the Connex Mountains and south of Humut Town and Fervor Desert. Occasionally, workers from Caeli City will also go through Fervor Desert to help monitor Zeta Contact Tower. This place also houses many airplanes and flying Pokémon to allow people to travel all around Duewel. The weather here is normally clear with barely a change. It houses a Pokémon Haven Center and the flying gym headed by Delaire Kay.

· **Manus Town** : a small town located left of the Connex Mountains near below Gelu Town. Many of its residents are fighting enthusiasts and set up multiple dojos for various Pokémon to train. Apparently, there are a notable great many restaurants here as well. The Abra Teleportation Center allows easy access from Manus Town to Gelu Town. Rare sightings of a mysterious Pokémon have been reported at the Vitreus Waterfall that many martial artists like to use for training. It has the Crabominable Pokémon School and the fighting gym headed by Kaden Vadas.

· **Ani Town** : located on the left of the Connex Mountains and north of Orsus City. Many children from Ani town attend the Alakazam Pokémon school in Orsus City and the Ani Library provides a lot of information for aspiring scholars to read. The town also holds contests for various coordinators. The Grand Ani Mall allows trainers just starting out from Orsus City to obtain necessary items for their journey. Ani Town also has the psychic gym led by Hugo Quinlan.

· **Anaciite City** : located on the left of the Connex Mountains. Anaciite City is a large city with all the latest technologies. The Duewel subway system is maintained here and has stops at Humut Town, Caeli City, Bronte City, and Fel Town. The subway system goes through the Connex Mountains. A Pokémon Haven Center resides here. The city also holds contests, has the Theta (8th) Contact Tower, and the steel gym led by Glaucio Jekyll.

· **Anguis Town** : a quiet small place on the left side of the Connex Mountains. This little town is cut off from the rest of the region by the Perdet Cave, home to many different dragon type Pokémon. While its people are not unkind, they prefer to keep to themselves as many criminals attempt to steal their rare treasures to sell. It also houses the dragon gym and its gym leader, Kaida Ngo.

· **Mediocris City** : a festive city that never seems to go to sleep. Located on the left side of the Connex Mountains, Mediocris City guards the entrance to Victory Road and is therefore responsible for checking eligible competitors for the League. Despite its serious responsibilities, it overall has a bright and cheerful atmosphere to it. It contains multiple services to help trainers take better care of their Pokémon, such as salons and training centers. Mediocris City also has the Granbull Pokémon School and the fairy gym headed by Olivier D'Angelos.

· **Mount Laurea** : a lone mountain separate from the Connex Mountains accessed through the Victory Road. Mount Laurea is the location of Duewel's Pokémon League and Pertinax Training Center. One of the Elite Four Members and the Champion are often found in the training center. Mount Laurea also has Duewel's Lambda (11th) Contact Tower.

· **Cotidianus City** : located on the right of the Connex Mountains and west of Bronte City. Cotidianus is home of the largest Pokémon amusement park, fashion show, and movie studio, making the city a large entertainment center. Its Abra Teleportation Center allows people from Ustrine Town to visit. Cotidianus City is also home of the main Pokémon Haven Center where people can adopt rescued Pokémon. It has the Pyroar Pokémon School and the normal gym led by Alex Liddell.

· **Gramen Town** : located on the right of the Connex Mountains. Surrounded by rolling hills and grasslands, the people of Gramen Town are the main shippers of Duewel's foodstuffs and berries. There are also two different ranches providing Tauros ride and Gogoat ride services. Duewel's Beta (2nd) Contact Tower is visible from all the farms. Gramen Town also holds contests and is home of the grass gym headed by Bentley Patel.

· **Ustrine Town** : a warm place lying on the left side of Mount Par, the largest mountain of the Connex Mountains. Despite its freezing location, Ustrine Town is home to many glass and porcelain makers. The multiple sculptors' ovens burning provide the warmth that the people need. There is an Abra Teleportation Center for students to easily go to Cotidianus City's Pokémon school and amusement park. The town also has Duewel's Delta (4th) Contact Tower and the fire gym led by Aideen Espina.

· **Lympha Town** : one of two towns located on Sejun Island rather than the Duewel mainland. Tourists who take the S.S. Ariel enjoy the trip between Lympha Town and Bronte City. Because of the luxury cruise, the town is a hot tourist spot with the contests a beautiful sight to see. There are many tourist services mostly involving water entertainment. It has the Milotic Pokémon school and the water gym headed by Calder Takahashi.

· **Bronte City** : located on the right of Connex Mountains. Its multiple power plants provide Duewel with most of its power. As a matter of fact, Bronte City contains Duewel's Alpha (1st) Contact Tower. The many electricians of Bronte City decide to help the other cities and town by helping certain ones build power plants and others build the rest of the Contact Towers. As a result, it can be considered as the center of Duewel as it is the S.S. Ariel's destination on the mainland and one of the stops of Duewel's subway system. This city has a great relationship with Cotidianus City and helps power their amusement park. It has the electric gym led by Steltella Jaeger.

· **Bestiola Town** : one of two towns located on Sejun Island rather than the Duewel mainland. It is farther into the Sejun Island surrounded by Vis Forest. The people here are as connected to nature as the denizens of Gramen Town. The Safari Zone here also contains many rare Pokémon not found anywhere else in Duewel. Bestiola Town has the Iota (9th) Contact Tower and the bug gym headed by Cicada Hobbes.

· **Phasm Town** : located right of the Connex Mountains. Phasm Town is a large spiritual town commonly associated with Nox Town. Many of its older residents come from Nox Town. Its residents often know their neighbors by name and face. Phasm Town also has a small tradition that once a week, all the denizens gather in one large amphitheater to tell scary stories. A special prize is given for the person who can tell the scariest story. Just beyond Phasm Town is the Fortuna Manor, a strange place that few visit. It has Duewel's Gamma (3rd) Contact Tower and the ghost gym headed by Ruhan Zoric.

· **Caligo City** : located right of the Connex Mountains. A large city whose size rivals that of Orsus City, Caligo City contains the headquarters of many businesses, including the Pokapps Company. There is also a Pokémon Haven Center here. Despite its strong police force, gangs still run rampant in its streets at night for the Underground Pokémon Brawls. There is a delicate balance between the different demographics living in the city that can easily be shattered with a small riot. Even so the city holds many contests. It has the Liepard Pokémon School and the dark gym led by Ebony Capello.

· **Fel Town** : located right of the Connex Mountains. Fel Town is usually the starting point for artists, writers, and musicians. It has multiple cafes for poet readings and large grassy outdoors for musical conventions. Due to its large creative population, the contests Fel Town holds are very competitive and difficult. It is also one of the stops of the Duewel subway system. Fel Town is home of the Arbok Pokémon School and the poison gym led by Maeve Wrona.

· **Nox Town** : located right of the Connex Mountains. Nox Town is one of the oldest towns surrounded by the circling Spira Forest. It contains the large Pokémon Tower, the final resting place for multiple Pokémon whose owners do not want to travel to the Pokémon Graveyard to the west of Spira Forest. Not many people live here due to the ghost stories and rumors associated with Nox Town.

· **Fortuna Manor** : a quaint little house located outside of Phasm Town's range. Boasting three stories of darkness, very few people dare to venture inside. Those who did were never seen from again.

**Other Landmarks:**

· **Connex Mountains** : a large set of mountains running down the middle of Duewel Region that effectively separated the region in two, because of this Duewel Region had set up multiple Contact Towers in order for everybody to keep in touch. The largest mountain is Mount Par.

· **Herba Forest** : a lush forest separating Orsus City, Ani Town, and Caeli City

· **Fervor Desert** : a large, barren desert separating Humut Town, Caeli City, and Manus Town

· **Rupe Desert** : a small desert west south of Silax Town

· **Perdet Cave** : a mazelike cave cutting Anguis Town from the rest of Duewel

· **Avius Ruins** : ancient ruins where archaeologists always have a field day, researchers believe this used to be the site where ancient people travel to in order to receive the gift of knowledge or passion

· **Flov River** : a rushing river that cuts through the paths between Mediocris City and Ani Town, Humut Town and Anaciite City, and along the road to Manus Town through Connex Mountains

· **Vitreus Waterfall** : an extremely cold waterfall from Connex Mountains that flows into the Flov River, sightings of a rare Pokémon are reported

· **Saevio Tunnel** : a manmade tunnel running through Mount Par that connects Gelu Town and Ustrine Town

· **Spira Forest** : a dark, skeletal forest surrounding Nox Town, reported sightings of strange lights and floating spirits

· **Pokémon Tower** : one of the final resting places for Pokémon located in Nox Town, has a total number of nine stories, however, for some reason people claim to that the fourth story does not exist

· **Pokémon Graveyard** : one of the final resting places for Pokémon located west of Nox Town, usually only the oldest of citizens can be found here mourning for their lost companions

· **Fluv River** : a rushing river that runs along Caligo City, cuts through the paths between Caligo City and Gramen Town, and through Bronte City to lead to the Otium Sea

· **Merchants' Road** : a large, long road between Phasm Town, Caligo City, and Fel Town where various merchants gather to sell their wares

· **Aurum Beach** : a beautiful beach for tourists and residents to visit

· **Otium Sea** : a usual calm water body that separates the Duewel Mainland and Sejun Island

· **Sejun Island** : a separate land mass from the Duewel Mainland that has Lympha Town, Bestiola Town, Vis Forest, and Sal Cave

· **Vis Forest** : a lush forest that contains multiple different bug type Pokémon

· **Sal Cave** : a damp cave where ancient fossils can be dug up and a secret pathway leads to a hidden area

* * *

These are the following OCs that will appear in the story. Only Barrett Fye is mine while the rest belong to their respective owners from FF.net.

**1\. Barrett Fye - The Defective Captor (made by bladewielder05)  
**

**2\. Blake Noxic - The Outlaw of Redemption (made by Fool Arcana Kaiju)  
**

**3\. Camelot Groove - The Orator of Insurrections** ****(made by 5050railtime)** **

**4\. Evelyn Clarke - The Forlorn Gamer** ****(made by confections101)** **

**5\. Evelyn Nnoko - The Ice Angel** ****(made by The Gaming Geek Gina)  
** **

**6\. Forrest Mcintosh** **\- The Ersatz Idler (made by TheBigMoist31)  
**

**7\. Genevieve Nightingale - Diana's Paradox (made by Lady Kiko-chan)**

**8\. Jack Aisen Yuki** **\- The Child Guardian** **(made by Luchux)  
**

**9\. Malcolm Cunningham** **-** **The Strategist of Anodyne Perils** ****(made by Cloak192)  
****

**10\. Marius Seifer** **\- The Boy who Crossed the Gap** ****(made by Insanity's Jewel)  
** **

**11\. Morgan Drake** **\- The Apathetic Tactician** **(made by Ethereal Hunters)  
**

**12\. Neil Berenson** **\- The Phantasmal Trickster** ****(made by PainX65)  
** **

**13\. Neusa Amorette Morena Garciacano** **\- The Ardent Marionette** ****(made by Kuroi Bara-676)  
** **

**14\. Rhys Dignam** **\- The Venomous Meister** ****(made by kennysdead)  
** **

**15\. Robert Orre Yew** **\- Lado's Mask** ****(made by W.R. Winters)  
** **

**16\. Stylen Chrial** **\- The Concierge of Hysterias** **(made by 71526483)  
**

**17\. Violetta Hallows** **\- Sunny Dolly** ****(made by Scissor-Snipper)  
** **

**18\. Zion Voltage** **-The Technical Pacifist** ****(made by ssjzohan)** **


	2. Pilot Episode 1: The Grand Scheme

"There have been more reports of Pokémon theft. The police are doing everything they can to stop the criminal group, Team Annex, from committing any more larcenies. Authorities advise trainers to keep their Pokémon close and stay with others to minimize chances of being one of Team Annex's many victims." The reporter continued to describe the crisis overshadowing the Duewel region. However, the attention of the young woman on the couch switched from the large TV to the ringing phone. She picked it up with a casual "hello".

"Hey, Miwa!" said a joyful voice. "How's life been for you?"

"Boring," Miwa replied without skipping a beat. Despite negativity in the declaration, a small rare smile graced her lips. At the sound of his trainer, the arcanine lying next to the couch looked up. The young woman reached down to scratch his favorite spot just underneath his left ear. The arcanine growled blissfully in thanks. She continued, "Nobody is good enough to challenge me so far."

The seemingly arrogant statement was met with laughter. "Haha, that's our champion for you! Did anybody even get past the Elite Four?"

"No one."

"That really does sound boring."

"Kane, you are a very busy man. Tell me the real reason why you're calling me."

"What? I can't just call my friends to say hello?"

"No."

Miwa heard her friend sigh. Then Kane's tone lost its initial cheerfulness. "You heard the reports about Team Annex, right?" At the mentioning of the criminal group, the champion grunted a confirmation. Her eyes never truly left the TV and she noticed how a new reporter now interviewed a police officer about said group. The subtitles read "CRIMINAL GROUP STILL AT LARGE", a truly terrifying thought to have for many Pokémon trainers in the Duewel region. The professor took that as a sign to carry on. "The police are trying their best to stop them, but it's not enough. I'm getting more and more calls from trainers that Team Annex stole their Pokémon. Even civilians are losing their Pokémon. At this rate, all the Pokémon in the Duewel Region would belong to Team Annex. They might even grow powerful enough to overtake the Elite Four and you."

"Somehow I doubt that," Miwa replied. She stopped scratching her arcanine, earning a curious look from the legendary Pokémon. His curiosity soon waned and he went back to sleep. She stood up from the couch. "But what do you have in mind?"

"I'm thinking of gathering a group of new trainers to help us stop Team Annex. Wait, hear me out," Kane quickly interrupted when he heard Miwa intake breath to retort. "These trainers must already show some level of control and skill with Pokémon. I plan to look through all the trainer schools of Duewel to see who would qualify for this mission. Probably run a couple of tests to see if they're the real deal. Then I'll give them their starter Pokémon and send them off in groups, each with their own special mentor. While they're on their journey, they can report back to us any information they find on Team Annex. I read from police reports that Team Annex rarely go after new trainers, so this would be a prime opportunity to build them up.

"If all goes well, by the time they're targeted, they'll be strong enough to fight Team Annex off. Not only that, they'll have their group and mentor to fall back on. After all, didn't other regions tell stories of how a young trainer managed to stop entire mafias from ruling the world? Who's to say that a group of them won't work in our situation?"

"…perhaps you're onto something," Miwa agreed. She remembered how determined she was when she first started. Though initially accompanied only by her arcanine and hakamo-o at the time, Miwa nevertheless took the region by storm, being the first person in Duewel's history to collect all eighteen gym badges before taking down all members of the Elite Four with relative ease. That had been nearly ten years ago, and she held the champion spot ever since. The memories reminded her how resilient and stubborn new trainers could be. However, they also warned her how stupid new trainers could be as well. Too often, she met ill-prepared people with no skills to show. These children, she had no doubt, gave up soon after she pummeled them to the ground with only Fenrus. That thought forced her to speak up:

"When are you planning to run those test?"

"When? Why? You going to pay me a visit to see?" Professor Hawthorn laughed. No sooner had he said that, the champion responded immediately.

"Yes."

The laughter stopped in disbelief. "Wait, really?"

"Yes. I won't entrust Duewel's future to a group of kids I find inadequate."

"Huh…and here, I thought it would take more to convince you to come down here…" He laughed again. "Is there any chance you would be a mentor to one of the groups?"

"No."

"Darn, worth a try." Kane's tone turned thoughtful. "Do you think the Elite Four would be willing to be the mentors?" This time, Miwa didn't say anything. The musing air lengthened just short of an uncomfortable silence. Finally the champion spoke:

"You would have to ask them that yourself. I believe they would have no trouble mentoring the groups. However, the kids would most likely find contact with my friends very scarce. Dealing with Team Annex is but one of our duties."

"All right. I'll ask them. Would any of them also want to see the kids test?"

"I think Avery would tag along since I'm going. The others, I would have to ask." Miwa gave Fenrus another loving pat before urging him to stand up. The large Pokémon groaned slightly but did as he was beckoned. He shook his mighty mane to clear away any more drowsiness. Miwa also turned off the TV. Her pokapp had lit up during the conversation, reminding her that it was nearly time to head to the restaurant. She didn't need Avery to nag her about her tardiness. She turned away from the TV towards the phone machine. "I'll let them know what you're planning and ask them if they want to watch and mentor the kids."

"Cool. Thanks, Miwa. I really appreciate it. Don't be afraid to call me."

At the last statement, Miwa rolled her eyes despite her friend's inability to see that expression. "I don't have time to call everybody. Say hello to Mary for me."

"Will do. See ya!" At that, Professor Hawthorn clicked the phone shut. Likewise the champion placed the phone back to its original position. Now that the conversation was over, she had some time to think more about Kane's proposition. While she wished that she and the Elite Four alone could extinguish Team Annex's momentum, what she told the professor was true. They simply didn't have the time to do so when there were other things they had to do. Besides, at the very moment, Team Annex's crimes of stealing Pokémon did not raise enough priority for officials outside of the police to handle. Perhaps that was their plan. If it was, whoever masterminded it was quite devious.

Truth to be told, Miwa wasn't sure about Team Annex. They never existed back when she first started her journey. They subtly showed up around the past five years, she believed. It took the police a while to connect the criminal group with a series of Pokémon thefts at the time, quiet as they were with their misconducts. Even then, they seemed quite selectively on who they stole from, mainly trainers. It was only until now did they begin to steal more and more from other people, including innocent civilians. Sure, the police managed to apprehend some of the grunts, but the thefts continued to happen all around the region. Something had to be done to fix this problem.

Which brought her train of thought to Kane's crazy idea. Stopping an entire organization was no small feat, and an extremely mysterious one at that. The students would be working with almost nothing about Team Annex other than the fact that they stole Pokémon. Sure, they might do well in their classes and would be having some help from the group of the strongest Pokémon trainers in Duewel. However, could she be certain that these students were up to the task? Judging by the professor's words, she figured they couldn't be any younger than twelve and older than eighteen since Kane wanted students from Pokémon schools. Honestly though age was not a problem. Their personalities and abilities were the main things Miwa was looking for. Would they have the determination to go through with this? Would they have the persistence to continue when the end looked to be in sight?

She snapped out of her thoughts when she felt something wet nudge her shoulder. Miwa looked over to see Fenrus's questioning and bored expression.

_What was that all about?_

"Just something about the future of this region. Kane has always been eccentric, but I never thought he would actually come up and go through with this plan." When the curious look didn't disappear, Miwa continued, "He's going to have groups of students travel Duewel to gather information about Team Annex and potentially stop the group."

Fenrus's expression morphed into one of disdain as he couldn't comprehend the reasoning behind the plan. After all, shouldn't the professor recruit the help of more proficient trainers? Why mere students who wouldn't have any skills at all? Miwa couldn't stop the small chuckle from slipping as she recognized that look. It was a common expression between the two of them whenever they met an unworthy opponent on their past journey. She shrugged as she rubbed the arcanine's ear.

"Yes, I know it sounds like a horrible idea, but I don't think we would be able to talk Kane out of this. Besides, for some strange reason, I feel like it would work. New trainers can be quite a stubborn bunch. Either way…" Miwa trailed off as she pushed the doors open for her and her arcanine to leave the room.

"I look forward to seeing if they can impress us."


	3. Pilot Episode 2: A Necessary Meeting

"Where is he? Wasn't he the one who called this meeting in the first place?" the young man grumbled, the sound of his impatient foot tapping filled the area. He leaned back in his chair with his arms crossed as his shut eyes twitched slightly. His companion in the chair next to him glared at him. She felt a terrible urge to flick his forehead in punishment. However she resisted it as she knew their leader wanted to minimize dissent among their ranks, and a physical action would only add oil to the fire. She had to settle with a verbal retaliation.

"Maybe if you weren't so irritating, he would be here sooner," the young woman growled. The young man returned his own glower.

"As if your attitude was any better, bitch."

"You bas-."

"That's enough out of you two," the oldest person at the table interrupted. He eyed both of them critically just as a father would to his misbehaving children. The lady shut her mouth tightly to stop herself from spewing obscenities while the young man sat back smugly. He quickly wiped the grin off his face when the older man turned his attention towards the younger man. "Don't think I didn't see that, Earth. Use your codenames, not vulgarities."

"Still, Earth has a point," the other female in the room said quietly. "It isn't like Aether to be so late. I wonder what's holding him?"

"You worry like a mother of a mischievous brat," the last human occupant of the room chuckled. He removed the pen from his mouth to write down a lightbulb he suddenly had. The young man then placed his pen on the table instead of chewing on it again. "Don't worry so much. Very little can stop my dear Aether." The woman frowned at his choice of words. She opened her mouth to say more but stopped when the door to the room suddenly slammed open. Immediately, everybody stood up in attention, earning a laugh from the newcomer.

"At ease, soldiers!" said a cheerful, youthful voice. "We all friends here." His actions seemed to belie his easy-going nature as he allowed the door to slam shut behind him. The initial occupants sat back down in their chairs while the newcomer strolled leisurely towards the empty, high-backed chair at the head of the table. He then plopped down in his seat with an exaggerating satisfied sigh. The sounds of a body shifting for a more comfortable spot filled the absence of human speech. When the silence regained control, the young man rubbed his hands together eagerly. "Right! Let's get down to business!" He grabbed the folder in front of him and flipped through it rapidly. His unfocused eyes told the others that he did that action more for fun rather than for purpose. He finished his faux business and threw the folder back on the table. "Air, status report."

The lady stood up with a folder at hand. Unlike her leader, she opened it to refer to her neat notes. "A couple of grunts from Group D were caught stealing in Manus Town. The police have brought them in for questioning. So far, it doesn't seem as if they have said anything about us yet. However, that may very well change once they are transferred over to Caligo City."

"I see. Water, make sure they don't spill the beans," the leader said. The older man inclined his head in acknowledgement.

"I understand. I will take care of it right away."

"Anything else?" Aether asked. Air nodded.

"While those grunts have failed, Group B stole one trainer's whole team of Pokémon." She looked down at her notes. "The Pokémon were a-."

"I don't care what kind of Pokémon that trainer had," Aether interrupted quickly. He looked at her steadily. "Did our grunts follow protocol?"

"Yes, they did," the woman answered as she closed the folder. Aether continued to stare at her with a sarcastic smile on his face. Only did he see the slightest movement from discomfort did he break their staring contest.

"I have heard of some very interesting reports concerning our group. It seems we aren't following protocol properly at all considering how some of us are even getting caught. As a result, Earth, I want you to recall all our grunts and grind it in their puny minds what Team Annex's true goals are."

Earth scratched his head, irritated at the impromptu assignment. "Really, man? Do I have to?" He flinched slightly when Aether's smile turned from sarcastic to cold.

"Yes, you do. See to it."

"Fine, fine. Whatever you say, boss man."

"I do say so!" Aether tittered cheerfully. Earth only sighed at his leader's annoying merriment. The young man happily ignored the obvious irritation and moved onto the next thing on his agenda. He looked at the last young man whom he had not yet addressed. His countenance was serious again. Sometimes his rapid change in his emotions and behaviors disturbed some of his allies. At least he clearly expressed his moods so other people would know exactly how to act around him at that specific moment. "Void, how's your project coming along? Will we be able to use them soon enough?"

Void smiled slyly. "Soon enough, Aether. Soon enough. I simply need to work out a few glitches with them, but I assure you that they will make stealing Pokémon much easier."

"Haha, I can't wait to try them out," he said sincerely. "And I don't like that term. I prefer to call it…liberating Pokémon." The scientist of the group nodded, the smile still on his face.

"Of course, my mistake. They'll make it much easier to liberate Pokémon."

"Hmm," Aether hummed, satisfied with how this meeting was going so far. He ran through a mental list of what he wanted to go over in this meeting with his admins. When he realized he had gone through mostly everything, Aether fixed Water with an even gaze. "What about you, Water? Any…interesting challengers so far?"

Water shook his head no. "None that I saw, Aether." The leader leaned back in his seat, using his feet to push on the table to tilt the chair backwards slightly. He stared at the ceiling with a satisfied expression.

"That's good. I'd hate for any…good trainer to suddenly lose their precious Pokémon," he spat out venomously as he let his chair suddenly drop on level footing with a loud crash. Only Fire jumped from the noise, making Aether look at her. The young woman waved his concern away yet he still stared at her. She kept her eyes down ont eh table in an effort to avoid her leader's gaze. Even the room seemed to hold its breath in anticipation of how this curious man would act. "…how are things going for you, Fire? Are the businesses going well?" he asked quietly.

Fire looked at her leader in surprise. Then her surprise softened. Due to her attention on Aether, she didn't notice the slightest frown touching Void's expression. "They're going wonderfully. It was a great idea on your part to set up those centers, Aether." The young man waved her praise away.

"I only did what I believed was right," he said bitterly. The solemn air around him caused an awkward silence to follow afterward. However, like a candle flame in a hurricane, his somberness disappeared to be replaced by his usual exuberance. "I think this meeting went well, don't you guys? Let's go ahead and get dismissed~!" Aether said happily. He placed his hands on his knees and swung them back and forth, looking like for all the world to see a child. His admins muttered agreements for one reason or another. The leader's smile widened slightly.

As he stood up, he suddenly let out a painful groan. He managed to support himself with the table before he collapsed completely. The others started towards him in worry. Aether stopped them with a hand, but only Water continued to head towards him. He asked:

"Aether, are you all right?"

"Aether, what's the matter?"

"Another attack, dear Aether?"

"Need us to get anything for you?"

"I'm fine," the leader snarled. All signs of his good nature completely disappeared. The others knew that if they irritated him even slightly, he would fly off the handle on them. For now, they had to trust Water to handle their leader. The older man always seemed to be able to calm down Aether whenever he got in one of his moods. Despite that, the young man slapped Water's offered hand away. "I don't need your help."

The older man showed no offense to Aether's rejection. Instead, he calmly grabbed the mask that rested on his spot of the table and stretched it towards his leader. Aether desperately clutched onto the grey mask and placed it on his face. The coverage of his features seemed to have calmed him down substantially, but he still breathed quite heavily. The young leader slowly made his way to the door without sparing his admins another glance. He had to carefully let go of the table to support his weight with the wall.

Water came to Aether's rescue again by providing his body as a sort of clutch for the leader to lean on. He took hold of Aether's arm, ignoring how cold the younger man's body seemed compared to his own. No protest was made as the silverette leaned on the brunette. The other admins watched as their companion slowly led Aether out of the room. The leader didn't even bother to say good-bye to any of them.

The moment the door closed behind the pair, Void covered his mouth to hide futilely a sly laugh. "I wonder if dear Aether is going to be all right?" he giggled. Despite his apparent delight in his leader's pain, the others could see the same worry they had reflected in his eyes.

"I just wish he wouldn't overwork himself so much," Fire sighed as she stood up in preparation to leave.

"Our leader knows what he's doing," Air reassured her, "even if he is still a bit wet behind the ears."

Earth chewed the tip of his thumb. "Yeah. Doesn't stop him from being scary though. I'd hate to see him really blow up one day." Fire considered her allies' comments before sighing once more.

"I suppose so. Anyways, I better get back to the centers. I can't leave them for long."

"Of course. Just don't worry your little head about Aether so much." Void chuckled. "I'm sure he'll do just fine…"


	4. Episode 1: Arcanine Challenges

Barrett nearly wished he wasn't here. He almost would rather sit in his class bored out of his skull. At least there, everybody knew better than to initiate a conversation with him. Here, three people had already tried to introduce themselves to him and chat him up. The young man had somewhat politely driven them away with only his name and nothing else. While two of them seemed to have gotten the hint that he wanted to be left alone, the last individual was quite…loud and obnoxious in Barrett's eyes. Thankfully though Barrett's silence eventually irritated him to the point that the young man went off to pester somebody else. Even now Barrett could hear the noisy male trying to hype something on the other side of the room.

Despite his disinterest in making friends with any of the students gathered here, he was interested in observing them. He sat with his zorua napping in his lap as he examined each student to see what he could make of them. Most, if not all the students, ranged between the ages of 15 and 16. Only two other students besides himself seemed to have made it past that threshold of 16 years while the youngest student seemed to be 13 at best (he didn't count the toddler a student was playing with although he did wonder why that specific student would bring their younger sibling to this gathering). Dressed in all kinds of different styles, some students interacted with one or two others in the large, spacious room with twenty or so chairs. A few, like him, settled with their own space although other students attempted to chat them up. Some students also had their Pokémon out to keep them company.

Barrett only recognized, if not knew, one of the teens, a Robert Orre Yew. The skinny, young man with glasses initially sat apart from the other students. However, a young man had plopped down in the seat next to him to start a conversation. Barrett saw Robert's fingers tap rapidly on his knee. His mouth moved in response to the newcomer. However, he tried to look at anything but his acquaintance. At least Robert didn't have to deal with the loudmouth now tormenting some poor kid with a black hoodie and baseball cap. Barrett closed his eyes briefly to block out an oncoming headache and to remember how this particular gathering came to be.

The principal of Alakazam Pokémon School had called both Barrett and Robert into his office one day to tell them. The man congratulated them on being specially selected for a project funded by Professor Kane and Professor Mary. The professors wanted the top students of each Pokémon school in the Duewel region for this particular task. While the professors didn't give out much information, they wrote that the students arrive at their lab a week later at 9:30 sharp for debriefing. The letters the principal handed to the two boys didn't give any other interesting information other than the fact that the professors along with some special guests would test the students to see if they were ready for the assignment lying ahead. Barrett only guessed that the professors wanted to send them on a journey across Duewel to fill up a pokedex or something, although the former task seemed pretty unlikely.

He exhaled slightly through his nose in regret as he crossed his arms to lean back in his chair. If his mother hadn't forced him to sleep early yesterday night, he might have been able to finish the little pocket watch he worked on for weeks now. Unfortunately he had to put his little project on hiatus for this, and he had a feeling that he wouldn't be able finish it anytime soon with this apparently huge mission he was chosen for. Yet despite what he told himself, Barrett knew that he wanted to go on this journey. His classes at Alakazam Pokémon School bored him, and he felt that this was exactly what he and his Pokémon needed in order to improve themselves. After all, if he wanted to complete his goal, he had to get his Pokémon to be as strong as they possibly could.

A small squeak from the back of his scarf had Barrett sitting up. The sudden movement woke Vanitas from his little nap. The zorua yawned hugely as he stretched himself free of the drowsiness. He looked at his trainer curiously to ask what the commotion was about but noticed that Barrett's eyes were trained at the double doors. Vanitas looked and he knew what was up, his superior senses aiding him.

A few seconds afterwards, the doors slid open. Everybody in the room immediately fell silent, including the loudmouth. The silence reminded Barrett of the time he entered the room. However unlike when he sat in a chair, the hush remained. All the students' eyes followed the two professors walking towards them. Some students initially sitting down also sprang up in attention for some reason. Both adults had broad grins on their faces, the smiles only widening when they saw the spontaneous movements. When they stopped short of the students, the man studied the children leisurely while the woman placed her hands on her hips. Now that they were closer, Barrett could make out more physical details.

Both professors would have stood at relatively the same height if the woman didn't wear her high heels. While the man grew short white hair, the woman boasted long black hair. They shared the same brown eyes and easy smile, their facial structure and jovial mannerism suggesting more than a marriage relationship between the two. They wore the signature, white lab coat of all Pokémon professors. Underneath he had on a blue polo shirt with brown pants while she had on a red blouse with black pants. The two professors emitted so much positive energy that it seemed nearly impossible not to smile back at them.

"Welcome, students, to our laboratory!" the woman said cheerfully as she swept her arms in a flourish show. "For some of you, this may be the first time you stepped into Orsus City. If so, I hope you're enjoying yourselves here. I am known as Professor Mary Hawthorn. This is my brother, Kane Hawthorn."

"Hello!" the man hooted as he waved at the students. Some students waved back with their own grins. Mary also smiled before she continued:

"The reason we called you here is that you have shown great promise in multiple subjects in your classes, and we believe you have the capability to accomplish a specific task. However, we also have to be 100 percent certain that you are indeed capable of handling said assignment as well as traveling Duewel as safely as possible. In order to do that, we've devised a couple of tests for all of you to take. And we have a couple of special _someones_ to help us judge your abilities." After the words left the professor's mouth, the doors slid open again, almost as if responding to a cue. The students once again looked over. However, this time, they couldn't keep gasps and murmurs silent.

A young woman strolled gracefully towards the group, straight-backed and proud. Her ebony hair, tied in a ponytail, left some bangs that didn't fully cover her sharp, deep black eyes. She stood slightly taller than Professor Mary even in her high heels, and her golden skin contrasted the professor's pale tone. While her clothes could be described as slightly old fashioned with it being a brown tunic with a folded collar and grey trousers with leather boots, they didn't hide her athletic figure. A long grey scarf decorated in simple twines of dark green vines wrapped around her neck warmly and trailed after her gently.

Following close behind was a taller, young man. He shared the same dark hair color as the woman though he looked through green lenses rather than black ones. He looked much lankier and paler than his companion. However, his blue hanfu with black accents and black silk pants covered his body structure from unobservant eyes. The young man also held a long pipe decorated with intertwining blue serpents recognized as dragonair to puff some smoke. A sly smile lit his face in contrast to the woman's serious stare.

An arcanine also padded after the two humans with his eyes scanning the area. Barrett blinked in slight confusion at the green object on the Pokémon's back. He soon recognized the object to actually be a chikorita riding on the arcanine. However Barrett didn't concern himself too much with that somewhat hilarious picture. Instead he stared in awe at the woman. He recognized her from the multiple battle videos his classes watched and a couple of magazines lying around the various shops. It was nearly impossible for anybody to not recognize Miwa Genji, the champion of Duewel. Not to mention that the man now standing right behind her was Avery Lin of the Elite Four. Even if nobody in the room identified them immediately, the loudmouth cleared up any confusion on why these two people were so special.

"The champion and Elite Four are here?! That's amazing!"

Barrett sighed to himself ruefully. The champion and Elite Four member also seemed to share the young man's irritation as a frown touched Miwa's face while Avery narrowed his eyes slightly. Professor Kane somehow managed to calm the hype boy down. Even then the young man still trembled with excitement as he strained to keep his mouth shut.

Miwa and Avery stopped right next to the professors while Fenrus stopped a little ways behind them. The champion placed one hand on her hip as she examined the group of students in front of her. One quick look told her that perhaps this crazy plan of Kane might work after all. All these students, at a first glance, seemed competent enough.

She said, "Hello. I am Genji Miwa and this is my friend Lin Avery. We, along with Professors Kane and Mary, will be testing you today." She stopped when one of the students raised her hand. Miwa looked straight at her, causing her to flinch slightly with her rather intimidating stare. "Yes?" she asked in what she hoped sounded like an encouraging tone. To her annoyance, she heard Avery snicker slightly at her failed attempt.

"What kind of tests?" The student who asked the question still expressed some nervousness on her heart-shaped face and lilac eyes. Her olive hands adorned with tip-less, black leather gloves unconsciously played with her wavy, cherry black hair.

"An obstacle course and a couple of battles," Miwa answered. She turned and nodded to Kane. The professor's grin, if possible, seemed to widen as he pressed a button on a small remote. The whirling sounds of machinery echoed throughout the room. A few students shouted in slight surprise when they felt the floor underneath them rumbling. The floor suddenly split open for a new floor plan to arise. The seventeen young adults stared in both shock and disbelief as large obstacles suddenly appeared right in front of them.

Immediately Barrett could tell that this wouldn't be an easy test. While each obstacle looked simple, the young man's calculating eyes noted how much stamina each student needed to complete this course. Judging by the anxious expression some students had, he rightly guessed that they might not even be able to finish the course.

"Let's not waste any time," Miwa said, her expression changing slightly to smirk at the students. "We'll be testing you on how fast you finish and how far you get. Each of you only get one shot at this course. You fall off an obstacle and touch the mats, you're out. Any relevant questions?"

"Yeah, what is this supposed to be testing?" a young man with short red hair asked curiously. His blue eyes examined the course closely, already devising ways on how to complete it.

"Apparently, we are seeing how fit you are and how fast you can think on your feet," Avery finally spoke up. He inhaled and exhaled some smoke, giving off the impression of a wise old man. "While we are timing how fast you go, we are also setting a time limit so you feel some sort of pressure. Any other, relevant questions?" When it looked like nobody else had any questions to ask, Professor Kane pulled out a stopwatch.

"All right! Miwa, Avery, anything you would like to say to the students? Any words or wishes of good luck?" Professor Mary asked despite knowing what her friends would probably say.

"We're not testing your luck. We're testing you."

"Haha! Miwa, serious as always." The male twin couldn't help but laugh, lightening the slightly solemn mood that followed after her statement.

"And do you have anything you want to say, Avery?"

"Other than the fact that you are looking absolutely radiant today, Mary? I do not think so."

"I meant to the students."

"Well…I do not think I have to say it, but I will. Do not screw up. If Miwa finds you inadequate, she will tell you to leave immediately." Although the young man smiled, his icy eyes let the students know that he too did not fool around despite his teasing tone at times. Some of them shuffled their feet nervously as they had a feeling they wouldn't even be able to complete the course. Even though the professors seemed encouraging enough, the grim natures of the champion and Elite Four member dampened their spirits somewhat. So they were certainly surprised when Miwa gave a small, reassuring smile.

"I have a vague idea about limits. Blake Noxic." Miwa's smile disappeared. "You will be going first."

A young woman standing at 5 feet and 9 inches walked towards the start of the obstacle course. Half of her hair was shaven off with a dark blue coloring while the rest of her hair on the right side retained its natural black along with artificial white streaks. Determination filled her electric blue eyes as she stood ready, almost ready to go in for a kill. She didn't have time to be bothered by Miwa and Avery's implied, high expectations. Judging by her fit physique and multiple scars on her left arm and cheek, Blake might just be able to complete the course.

"On your marks," Professor Mary started.

"Go!" Kane suddenly shouted as he clicked a stopwatch to start. If the abrupt shout caught her off-guard, Blake didn't show it. Instead she hopped easily through the first obstacle of six boards angled a little more than 45 degrees. She raced across a spinning log, almost slipping at one point. However the young woman quickly regained her balance to jump on a trampoline. Her arms reached out and she snagged onto the cargo net wall. Blake slowly began climbing up towards the top of the net. Once she got over it, she rolled her way down towards the next platform for the next obstacle.

She then leapt towards the first chain of the following obstacle. Her momentum made the chain swing forward, allowing her to reach the next chain. She didn't have as much momentum now due to her stop, but she still managed to leap to the last chain rope in order to complete this particular part.

Blake decided to slow down a bit to shake some soreness from her arms. She didn't realize that the combination of the net and chains would take that much out of her. The next obstacle seemed to be pretty easy with multiple foam dominoes all in a row. Blake took a running start towards them. However, as she got near the middle, the dominoes fell too fast for her. She lost her balance and leaned towards her right side. Miwa heard some of the students gasp behind her at the possibility of Blake failing. Unfortunately it happened.

The imbalance of the dominoes proved to be too much. The young woman had to jump off the obstacle and onto the mats. Blake quickly broke her fall with a roll. Once she landed back on her feet, she glared at the particular impediment that made her fail. "Damnit," she muttered under her breath.

"Impressive," Avery said. Miwa said nothing, her expression neutral as she wrote something down in a small notebook. Blake returned to her seat, mouth frowning in disappointment in herself.

Miwa then called for the next student to take the challenge. One by one, she sent every student to attempt the obstacle course. Her neutral expression gave nothing away as she watched them struggle to complete the course. Violetta Hallows, the youngest of the bunch, failed at the very first obstacle. However Miwa attributed that to more of her young nature rather than her actual athletic skills. Robert Yew failed at the spinning log with its movement causing him to quickly fall off. Zion Voltage missed grabbing onto the cargo net. While Rhys Dignam almost got through the cargo net, his hands slipped at the last minute. Marius Seifer fell at the chain ropes along with Morgan Drake, Evelyn Nnoko, Genevieve Nightingale, and Malcolm Cunningham. The dominoes took out Amorette Garciacano, Evelyn Clarke, Neil Berenson, Barrett Fye, and Jack Yuki. The person who went the farthest though was Camelot Groove, the loudmouth. Perhaps, Miwa thought ruefully, it was his hyper activeness that helped him get through the dominoes and fail the jumping bars. After all, Stylen Chrial also finished near the end of the dominoes despite his seemingly fragile built.

Either way, most students, if not all, seemed pretty frustrated with the course by the time they finished. Avery inhaled some smoke thoughtfully before looking an inquiry at his friend.

"What do you think?"

She didn't answer for a moment as she finished her final note in her book. Then she snapped it shut. "…I forget how fragile people can be."

"Nobody can be as training-crazed as you, Miwa."

"Yeah, Miwa. Why don't you try the obstacle course if you think it's so easy?" a young man asked with a sly grin. Miwa gave him a brief look, recognizing him to be Neil Berenson, before turning her attention to the obstacle course. Avery already held out his hand for her notebook, receiving it without another glance. The champion walked towards the starting area, pulling her scarf from her neck. Her arcanine obediently followed her and accepted the scarf to be draped over his neck. The chikorita on his back used her leaf to pull the scarf over her head, squealing playfully.

"Avery, time me."

"Of course," the Elite Four member said as Professor Kane handed him the stopwatch. The male professor almost couldn't contain his laughter. He looked over at the young man who had challenged her.

"She's really going to make you eat your words, Neil."

"Go!" Avery shouted without warning. Immediately Miwa dashed from the start. She finished the six steps in no time flat. It almost looked like she flew across the spinning log as she suddenly jumped from the trampoline onto the cargo net. Like an aipom the champion scaled up the net to roll downward. Without pausing Miwa leapt up to race towards the chain ropes. Her great momentum was enough to carry her through all three of the chains. Yet she barely stopped there as she raced through the dominoes. When it looked like they fell too fast for her, Miwa jumped ahead to balance precariously on a standing domino with her hands. Before it could topple over the champion pushed herself to land on her feet again and continued across almost immediately. She barely heard the students' gasps as she headed towards the jumping bars.

The watching students expected the champion to swing through the monkey bars as easily as the chains. However Miwa swung herself backwards to land on top of the obstacle. She ignored the astonished sounds she heard from below. She sprinted across bars, easily avoiding the need to use her upper body strength for this part. Once she reached the end she jumped off with no fear of heights. The champion broke her fall with a roll similar to Blake's. Regaining her balance quickly Miwa now only had to run up a warped wall. Despite the obstacles' towering height, she made it look like child's play as she grabbed the edge of the wall to pull herself up swiftly.

"Time!" Miwa yelled the moment both feet touched the top of the wall.

"Showoff!" Avery shouted back, the grin discernable in his tone. His smug grin widened slightly when he heard the students clapping behind him in awe of the show the champion put on. He looked at the time of the watch. "You were faster than your usual course by ten seconds."

Miwa grunted a small response as she leapt down from the warped wall. Her knees bent to absorb the blow, giving way to another roll. Then she walked towards the group without a care in the world. Fenrus padded behind her, allowing her to wrap her scarf around her neck once again. She didn't even seem to be breathing that hard. The champion caught Neil's eyes and smirked as she accepted her notebook from Avery. "I suppose I can do this course then."

Despite being proven wrong, Neil nodded with a smile. "Yeah, I suppose you did." Miwa's smirk lingered for a second longer before her expression returned to its original serious state. She widened her attention to include all the students this time.

"None of you were able to complete the course. That's fine. We will be moving onto the next test." Although she surprised some students with that rather contradictory statement, she ignored their murmurs as she nodded towards the twin professors. Kane pressed the button to revert the room back to its original state while Mary stepped forward with a grin.

"The next set of tests would be a round robin tournament. You will each get one rental Pokémon to battle the other students. Every time you finish, you will tell Avery here the results. That's fine, isn't it, Avery?"

"Since you asked, I cannot say no."

"Hmm," the female professor hummed, smiling smugly at him. She then pointed towards a yellow machine in the corner of the room. "Heal your Pokémon there after each battle. The test will end when everybody battled each other once. And I believe you all understand what this tournament would be testing." The students nodded in confirmation. If they had been fighting against any student from their own respective schools, they had no doubt they had the ability to beat them. However their peers here were about the same level as themselves. It should provide a much needed challenge for these top students.

Kane continued to explain. "We've used a randomizer already to pair you up with a rental Pokémon. We'll call you up one by one to give you your Pokémon. You may not see what Pokémon you have until your battle starts nor can you trade your Pokémon after your battles. Since there is an odd number of students, one of you would be sitting out. Feel free to observe the surrounding battles to your advantage. Any questions?"

"No? Then let's get started," Miwa said before anybody could even formulate a question. Kane couldn't help but snicker a bit at the champion's impatience. The beautiful woman continued, "Also, I would like to ask everybody with their Pokémon out to return them to their pokeballs. No exceptions." At her last two words, she looked straight at Vanitas.

The zorua squirmed underneath the champion's gaze. He tried to plead with his trainer to not put him into his pokeball. However Barrett shook his head regretfully, pulling out the capsule. "Sorry. I think she thinks you might give me an unfair advantage."

"Zo, Zorua?"

Barrett sighed at the accusation. "It'll look suspicious. Besides, she can watch over me since you can't, even though I doubt there's going to be any danger for you two to protect me from." Before Vanitas could say anything else, the young man had returned him to his pokeball. He heard a small squeak that told him Emi would be taking a nap for the rest of the day. That was just fine with him. Even if she didn't want to, instinct might make her give him an unfair advantage. He watched as a couple other trainers also returned their Pokémon to their respective pokeballs before the students looked at the adults again. Miwa raised an eyebrow at the youngest students.

"Violetta Hallows, is that gastly yours?" The champion jerked her head up slightly.

The young girl with lilac-blue curls looked above her head, her wide eyes widening slightly at the ghost Pokémon floating above her. She asked in a monotone voice, "Hermes, what are you doing here?" Hermes, as the gastly was apparently named, only snickered loudly at the trouble he got the little girl in. However he quickly shut up when Miwa glared at him. She crossed her arms and tapped her fingers impatiently.

"Please return him to his pokeball."

"I…I don't have a pokeball for him," Violetta said. "He's not really mine, but I play with him back home."

"…I see. As long as he doesn't interfere with the tournament, he can stay. If I see even the smallest sign of mischief, I will not hesitate to drive him out myself."

"Okay." The girl looked at her friend sternly. "Hermes, behave yourself."

"Gastly!" If it had been anybody else, the ghost-and-poison type wouldn't listen at all. However he knew that Miwa didn't play any games and meant business. He didn't want to risk incurring her anger.

Now that the champion knew there would be no interruptions, she nodded to Professor Kane. He held up a tray with the pokeballs all in their diminutive size. There were also thin slips of paper, and a closer inspection revealed these to be name labels. Miwa said, "Zion Voltage, step up to receive your Pokémon."

A young man with short, spiky black hair stepped up. The excitement was clear in his hazel eyes as he walked towards the group of adults. He looked over the tray to find his name, which was near the end with the alphabetical order of the students' last names. He found it, grabbed the pokeball, and returned to his seat. Miwa repeated the process with the rest of the students until everybody had a pokeball.

"Evelyn Nnoko and Morgan Drake," Avery said. "Please pick a battle box and start your battle." A lean young woman standing at five feet with long, black braids moved towards the battle box in the far left-hand corner. Her opponent, a thin young man towering over her with soot black hair all curly and disheveled, seemed to have had the same idea as he followed after her. The first pair wasted no time as the two students called out their Pokémon. A bronzor floated in front of Evelyn while a whismur shuddered on Morgan's side. From a single glance, Barrett could tell that this battle would be pretty difficult for Morgan. He couldn't imagine the adults giving them high-leveled Pokémon, so their rental Pokémon wouldn't have a wide move pool for them to use. Before he could watch Morgan order his whismur to use Echoed Voice, the Elite Four member caught his attention again with the pair calling.

Barrett found himself facing a student named Malcolm Cunningham. Barrett's opponent was only slightly shorter than him but might just stand taller than him in a few years. Malcolm's short, red hair left three short, sharp bangs close to his forehead, each shaped similar to a widow's peak. The young man smiled easily at Barrett, who recognized him as the student who initially asked about the obstacle test's purpose.

"Good luck to you."

The older student nodded in reply. "You as well." They waited for a split second before throwing their respective pokeballs at the same time. Even before the white disappeared from their Pokémon, Barrett knew he couldn't relax for a moment. Although Malcolm's budew seemed small compared to his cubone, the grass-and-poison type Pokémon had the advantage over his ground type Pokémon. And Malcolm showed it by immediately ordering his budew to use Absorb.

While Avery decided to not waste energy walking around and stay where he was to smoke his health away, the twin professors and Miwa took it upon themselves to weave between the battlefields to get a much closer look. Fenrus initially wanted to shadow his trainer, but he resisted that temptation to follow behind Miwa's friends. He understood that his trainer could easily defend against a stray attack while the twin professors might be a different matter. The champion liked what she saw. Each student's command spoke volumes of their determination and desire to win. Occasionally she would stop to see the strategy each student attempted.

Evelyn Nnoko versus Morgan Drake. Evelyn initially told her bronzor to move around to tire her opponent. However Morgan was able to get around that with whismur's sound-base attacks. The female student then changed her tactic to hypnotize the whismur into sleeping. This strategy seemed to work as Morgan's whismur started to stagger groggily. Before it could fully go to sleep though, Morgan quickly ordered it to use Astonish, effectively injuring the bronzor. The moment the whismur went to sleep, Bronzor attacked with a Confusion.

Marius Seifer versus Evelyn Clarke. Marius constantly told his pancham to keep moving, hopping here and there. Evelyn, on the other hand, had her poliwag focus and keep an eye on the opponent rather than following after it. The few times that Pancham finally closed in to use Arm Thrust on its opponent, Poliwag kept it at a distance with Water Gun. It seemed as though this battle would be one of stamina. Evelyn's eyes constantly went back and forth from the battle to her opponent while Marius kept a focused expression on the battle and the opposing Pokémon.

Malcolm Cunningham versus Barrett Fye. Malcolm kept ordering Budew to use Absorb, making it extremely difficult for Cubone to retaliate when it was so far away. Although Barrett's orders of dodging were for Cubone to get closer, his opponent was well-aware of that and neatly countered it with the barrage of Absorbs. Things quickly spiraled out of hand when Barrett ordered Cubone to throw its bone club in a makeshift Bonemerang attack. The accuracy was flawed but the true intention of distracting the budew worked. Barrett's cubone was able to get close and slam its hard head into the little Pokémon.

Blake Noxic versus Zion Voltage. Immediately it looked like Zion had the disadvantage as Blake ordered her vanillite to use Icicle Spear on his bagon. He quickly ordered Bagon to dodge the super effective move but still cringed when some of the spears managed to hit the dragon type. Blake didn't let up with her aggressive style as she switched from Icicle Spear to Uproar and back again. However Zion didn't give up. He commanded an Ember attack, the hot move immediately stopping Vanillite in its tracks. Now the positions reversed with Bagon attacking with a super effective move while Vanillite floated away desperately.

Jack Yuki versus Neil Berenson. Jack started the battle with his pumpkaboo using Scary Face. While the move shook Neil's aron a bit, Neil managed to get its head back into the battle. He ordered Aron to use one of the few moves that would actually do damage on the pumpkaboo. As Aron charged at the opposing Pokémon, at the same time it obeyed Neil's command of Harden. The Metal Claw hit the pumpkaboo pretty hard, and Neil got lucky with an attack boost. Jack immediately retaliated with an Astonish. Though a relatively weak move, somehow the ghost type attack did more damage than expected. That didn't deter Neil as he ordered the same combination once again. The next time Pumpkaboo used Astonish, the damage was much less.

Violetta Hallows versus Stylen Chrial. Violetta ordered her pachirisu to use Charm, although that attack had little use considering the current move pool of Stylen's magby. Even so Magby hesitated slightly in attacking the opposing Pokémon until Stylen ordered a Smokescreen. The Charm's secondary effect immediately became moot as the Smokescreen barred visibility. Magby added to the Smokescreen with an ordered Smog attack, but Violetta managed to get Pachirisu out of that sticky situation with a Quick Attack. Magby countered with an Ember that Pachirisu still managed to dodge with its superior speed.

Camelot Groove vs. Amorette Garciacano. Both students waited for an aggressive option from their opponent. Camelot ordered a Sweet Scent from his spritzee while Amorette commanded a Tail Whip from her female nidoran. When nobody seemed to want to make the first move, Spritzee used Fairy Wind. Although the multiple Sweet Scent attacks now made it impossible for Nidoran to dodge, Amorette didn't worry about the damage too much considering the rental Pokémon's type. However she didn't have any super effective moves up her sleeve. Amorette had to make do with Scratch and Double Kick, switching between the two moves with the occasional Tail Whip added in. Camelot countered with Spritzee's own Fairy Wind and Sweet Kiss whenever Nidoran snapped out of confusion.

Rhys Dignam versus Robert Yew. This battle proved to be interesting for a while as both rental Pokémon took to the skies. While Rhys used Murkrow's superior speed to attack, Robert could only order Taillow to use Quick Attack to dodge and evade. The moment Murkrow managed to hit Taillow with a Pursuit attack though, Robert held out his pokeball to return the tiny swallow Pokémon. His opponent gave him a confused look as he shook his head. This didn't escape the professors' notice as Mary made her way over. She spoke to Robert quietly for a while before patting his shoulder reassuringly and waving to Rhys to signal the official end of the battle.

Miwa's stone expression gave no indication of her growing impression of the students. The more she saw them in action, the more she actually believed that Kane's plan would work. Still a bit crazy, but now it looked more plausible than impossible. That didn't change the fact that they still had a very long way to go. The champion mentally noted a few students she wanted to keep tabs on once their journey started, but for the time being they satisfied her generously low standards. She glanced behind her briefly to see Avery talking with the remaining student, Genevieve Nightingale. A slight frown touched her expression when she saw the student bouncing the little girl with her up and down. A longer inspection convinced her that her initial suspicions proved true. The champion made a mental note to address that issue after the groups have been made.

The first round finished, and the students made their way back to the gathering area after healing their Pokémon. Some of them were obviously disappointed with their results while others were either relieved that they won or indifferent due to their confidence. Avery called for the second round, and Miwa noted with some amusement that her friend now sternly watched Genevieve's toddler instead of lazily examining the battles. He probably had to convince the student to leave the child with him while she concentrated on her test. Not to be outdone by a human child, Sakura, Avery's chikorita, leapt from Fenrus's back to try and divert the Elite Four member's attention to her. The bystander student now, Robert Yew, watched the humorous scene with a small smile.

The second and third rounds went off without incident. Avery began calling the fourth round and its pairs when suddenly the doors burst open. Everybody immediately looked towards the interruption, surprised expressions crossing their faces when a young man strolled rather leisurely into the room. Standing at 5' 9" with a deceptively lanky appearance, he blinked his dark blue eyes in order to drive away any overstaying drowsiness. When that didn't work he had to use a hand to rub it away, which led to a scratch at the back of a mess called his chocolate hair. A strange noise came from his back that the people in the room eventually recognized to be a ukulele thumping.

"Sorry, sorry," he apologized. "I kinda overslept."

"Forrest Mcintosh, leave," Miwa said bluntly. Her eyes stared coldly at the student before her. Avery mirrored her expression yet remained silently behind the scenes. Even the twin professors couldn't help but frown a bit at the student's overall behavior despite his apologetic tone. That statement shook the stupor out of him as he stared at the champion in slight shock.

"Wait, what?"

"We've specifically said that all students must be present by 9:30. And yet, here you are strolling in leisurely more than an hour late." The champion crossed her arms, her disapproving frown deepening. "If you cannot follow even simple orders like that, I very much doubt that you would be much help to your group. Leave." She turned to signal the continuation of the tournament. However a determined voice stopped her:

"I'm not leaving."

Her expression barely changed at the defiance shown towards her. Miwa peered over her shoulder to eye the student critically. The distance prevented Forrest from seeing the dangerous light in her eyes clearly but he could still tell by her rather stiff posture that his declaration aggravated her. She asked in a soft voice, "What?"

"I'm not leaving," Forrest repeated. "I already flew for Ptolabriam knows how many kilometers for this 'special' assignment of yours, and I'm not going to let anybody tell me that I don't qualify just because I happened to oversleep. I know I have what it takes, even if you don't see it. If you want me to leave, then you're going to have to drive me out yourself." He crossed his arms, an air of finality settling after his last words. An agonizing silence filled the room as the students looked from their fellow trainer to the champion. It looked like she was musing over something, still not entirely facing Forrest.

Finally Miwa smirked, a reaction that surprised the young trainers, Forrest included. She finally turned around, eyes glinting perilously. If she had been anything but a human, she might have mauled the student for sure right then and there. Not because he disrespected her but more so as a warning that he should watch himself around her.

"Mere words. If you are so keen on staying…" The champion gestured Professor Kane over with the tray of rental Pokémon. Though puzzled, he did as she beckoned. Miwa took two pokeballs, one of them initially meant for Forrest. Without warning, she lobbed it towards the young man, who managed to catch it miraculously. His expression still showed some consequence of catching that pitch barehanded, and he couldn't resist the need to shake the soreness away. "Prove it." Miwa threw her pokeball in the air, knowing full well what Pokémon rested inside. The other students, expecting more, were rather disappointed at the green insect Pokémon that emerged. It tittered cheerfully. "Show me what you got."

Forrest swallowed. Although he knew that he could show the champion that she was wrong, for some reason her presence alone made him feel nervous. No, that wasn't the right word. Fearful? Terrified? It felt more like he was fighting for his actual life rather than to be in the assignment. It could be said that this mission could very well decide his livelihood yet his skipping heart told him that no, if he failed this, he would most certainly die. Was this how other challengers felt when they finally faced her? Despite that petrifying sensation, Forrest nodded. "I'll be glad to. Go, pokeball!" He released his fighting chance, ready to battle for his life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For the obstacle courses, I used the following Sasuke or Ninja Warrior courses: Quintuple Steps, Spinning Log, Jump Hang, Hang Move, Dominoes, Jumping Bars, and Warped Wall.


	5. Episode 2: Tangled Webs of Ariados

"Rrrrruuff!" The rock type Pokémon appeared from Forrest's pokeball, barking up a storm. At a first glance, it seemed that the battle was Forrest's for the taking. However Miwa didn't seem all that shaken by the obvious type advantage between the two opposing Pokémon nor did she pay attention to how generally weak her own rental Pokémon was. Probably because she knew that all the rental Pokémon's level went up to a certain number and seemed quite confident in her own skill. She stared at the student, silently signaling for his action. Forrest wasted no time as he called out the first move of the battle:

"Rockruff, use Leer!"

The puppy Pokémon responded immediately. It narrowed its eyes at the little worm Pokémon in front of it to lower the defense stat. Caterpie let out a small shriek at the fearsome look from Rockruff. It curled up defensively despite that being a futile move.

"Use Leer again!"

"String Shot at its eyes."

As the rockruff attempted to lower the caterpie's defense again, Caterpie instead shot strands of silk right in Rockruff's face. The puppy Pokémon, not expecting any type of retaliation, barked in surprise and leapt back a few paces. It pawed at its eyes to get the sticky silk off. A quick second later and Rockruff glared at Caterpie again.

Forrest frowned at the attack. He instinctively felt that if she had wanted to, Miwa would have already used that tactic in the beginning. So why didn't she? He surmised that she was feeling out her opponent, similarly to him, to see what they would do in certain situations. His instincts also told him that the initial Leer was going to be the only status move she would allow to take effect. He decided to test that theory out.

"Sand Attack!"

"String Shot at the leg."

He knew it. As his rockruff turned to kick up sand into the caterpie's eyes, the little worm Pokémon shot another thread towards Rockruff's right hind leg. Caterpie reared its head backwards, causing Rockruff's leg to stick out. The rock type snarled in annoyance as now it could only try to keep steady on its three grounded paws. For some reason it couldn't pull its right leg down even though only a caterpie was holding it up. Should it do so, the caterpie yanked back even more. Soon enough Rockruff struggled to move forward. Then-.

"Cut it."

"Pie!" the caterpie squealed cheerfully. It finally let go of the String Shot, and Rockruff tumbled forward from the lack of pull behind. Its momentum caused it to fall forward flat on its chin. Forrest cringed slightly at that scene while his fellow students watched with shock, horror, and interest. The professors had a similar reaction to the students as Avery simply smirked with his puffs of smoke.

Rockruff shook its head and leapt to its feet. It turned around to growl intimidatingly at the worm Pokémon. It wanted to rush right in and show the little bug a piece of its mind. However, Forrest's command stopped it from doing anything that might cost them the battle. "Pace yourself, Rockruff. You'll do fine." So far, the student noticed that Miwa didn't do much in the way of attacking. Perhaps she only counterattacked whenever her opponents make a move? It certainly looked like that at the current moment. Either way, Forrest knew that he had to attack eventually, whether he wanted to or not. He pointed towards the opposing Pokémon. "Keep on your toes and use Bite!"

"Counter with Bug Bite," Miwa commanded as Rockruff ran towards her Pokémon. Caterpie didn't react quickly enough to her order, squealing and closing its eyes in pain from the resulting attack. Yet it opened its eyes with a newfound determination. Twisting its long body, it managed to bite Rockruff's leg, prompting the rock type to toss the bug type away from it with a yelp. The caterpie landed, shaken but not stirred. It shook its head quickly to clear away the brief vertigo from the throw. It sat up, and Forrest swore it smirked slightly at his Pokémon.

"Good job," Forrest reassured the puppy. "Use your speed to confuse it! Charge at it with a Tackle!"

Rockruff once again sprinted at Caterpie. At some points, the puppy Pokémon would leapt to a new area, causing Caterpie to look after it. The moment Rockruff saw Caterpie's eyes, it quickly ran to a new spot. This went on for quite some time until the little worm Pokémon started to teeter from the rapid movements. Rockruff took advantage of this and raced at top speed towards its opponent. However, before the rock type could do any damage despite the close distance between the two rental Pokémon, Miwa said a single word:

"Stench."

The word caused a bit of confusion initially. Then Forrest's eyes widened in surprise as his rockruff reeled away from Miwa's caterpie. The poor puppy Pokémon hurried a few paces back before collapsing on the ground to put its paws over its nose. The close proximity combined with the abrupt release of foul odor proved to be too much for Rockruff's powerful nose. It had smelled plenty of bad whiffs before but it never smelled this surprise stench until now. Forrest cursed quietly when he remembered how caterpie could release a horrible odor from its antennae. He should have known that Miwa would something how utilize it to her advantage in this battle.

"Electroweb," came a cold command. Forrest started in surprise, not from the order itself but the fact that Miwa actually initiated an order rather than wait to counterattack. Caterpie leapt into the air and fired a string of electricity at Rockruff. Once the electricity got close, the tip expanded into a web shape that landed right on top of Rockruff. The puppy Pokémon yelped in pain from the shock of the new attack, the sticky web latching onto it tightly. When Caterpie landed, it squeaked in exertion as it jerked its head backwards. The movement swung Rockruff into the air over the bug type and smashed the rock type into the ground. The impact caused dust to fly up, obscuring the audience and battlers' vision. However Miwa didn't need to see to know that the battle was over.

"Rockruff! You all right?!" Forrest called. His eyes attempted to drill holes into the dust but he still couldn't see his rental Pokémon. His worry only grew when he received no answer. Finally the dust dissipated, only to show Rockruff lying there with swirls in its eyes. "Rockruff!" Without waiting for the official end of the battle, the student raced across the field to hold up the rental Pokémon. Miwa watched with some interest as Forrest cradled the tired puppy in his arms. She noticed how his full attention was to the rockruff. She closed her eyes in thought and consideration, weighing her judgment about the late student. Finally she made her decision.

"…hmph. Take Rockruff to the healing machine there," Miwa said as she returned the caterpie. "Then join the other students." Curious murmurs rippled through the group as the champion's statement sunk in. Forrest's head shot up in surprise, an eyebrow raised in confusion. Even though he clearly lost by a landslide, the champion still decided to retract her earlier dismissal of him? While Forrest was grateful for it, he was dangerously inquisitive about her reason for doing so.

"But…" He knew he had to tread carefully here. "I lost."

The champion scoffed, "Don't change my assessment of you with such a stupid statement. I know you're intelligent enough to understand that I wasn't looking at the result. So don't waste my time." Forrest looked at her critically to see if she was joking. Definitely no obscure humor in that serious expression. After another second of uncertainty, the student nodded in gratitude and headed towards yellow machine. Miwa then turned to address the other students. "That will conclude our round robin tournament. Please return the rental Pokémon to Professor Kane and sit down in your seats. We'll debrief you on your assignment."

After a firsthand demonstration of the champion's battle skills, the students hurried to follow her directions. Avery chuckled a bit as he watched them scurry about so they wouldn't incur her wrath. Forrest also moved faster than he did earlier this morning. He was still the last one to take a seat though, nodding to Evelyn Nnoke as he did so. She shook her head slightly at him, signaling that she had a feeling such a thing would have happened. Her schoolmate simply shrugged in answer and she sighed in turn. Miwa waited for a moment to allow the students to settle down a bit. Her eyes roamed the room to inspect some students for a brief moment before moving on again. She tossed her head contemptuously. Then she said:

"While it is obvious that…all of you still have a long way to go, I do see some potential. It might seem that Kane's crazy plan might work after all."

"It was my idea too, Miwa," Mary piped up. The champion made a face towards her friend, who only laughed in response.

"My mistake. I shouldn't have put it past the both of you to come up with such an insane scheme." Miwa turned back to the students. She opened her mouth to speak, but suddenly a violent crash stopped her.

"What's up, bitches?!" Several students jumped in their seat as they didn't expect another interruption after Forrest's entrance. They looked towards the door to see the rather foolish person who decided to come in at this hour. Their eyes widened when they saw that the sliding doors now had a hole in their middle. Some of the pieces flew pretty far, reaching close to the group standing a good distance away. The adults in the room knew exactly who entered at that moment, and Miwa heaved a rueful sigh while rubbing her eyes. Her arcanine growled in annoyance as even Avery's chikorita chittered crossly.

The young man who kicked the door immediately made it known to everybody to watch themselves around him. The students straightaway noticed the injuries he boasted, mainly a long, clean scar tipping at his stomach and disappearing into the shadows of his opened leather vest. The bandages wrapped around his hands and arms spoke of other injuries not caused by the precarious Razor Claw necklace swinging around his neck. His crimson hair tied in a spiky ponytail did little to shield the world from his condescending, dead white eyes as he smirked arrogantly at the group. The most peculiar thing though was the blue-and-yellow striped…things hooked on his shoulders and around his waist. The students eventually realized that a shiny ariados clung onto the young man's back, its head peeking occasionally over his shoulder with its mandibles clattering slyly. A certain student who recognized the long leg Pokémon squeaked slightly and hid behind another student. Unfortunately Zion picked the wrong individual to cower under as Rhys also backed up a bit at the sight of the bug and poison type.

Trailing behind him was a much sunnier sight. A girl ranging from around twenty-two to twenty-four bounced cheerfully into the room. Some students had to do a double take before realizing that the stoic boy behind her was actually her twin and not a mirror. Both siblings supported the same short, hairstyle though the girl's strands were slightly longer. Their color, while initially the same, contrasted deeply with the boy's being a rich brown coloration as the girl's faded into a light chocolate. Their clothes also testified to how different they seemed to be. The girl's attire spoke volumes of outdoor adventures with her dirty sports jacket and pants. The boy's clothing suggested a more quiet life with his clean plaid shirt and jeans. At the very least their green eyes held the same thing, a strange mystery known only to them and a few others.

The last person to enter made nearly all the guys gasp and girls squeal. He kept well behind the others although his tall height didn't help much nor did his dazzling facial features aid in his hiding endeavor. He muttered quietly to himself as he glanced around the room nervously. The moment his deep, blue eyes noticed the group before him, the young man froze and stared towards the ground. The twins had to take his hands and pull him forward. Every person in the room who had an inkling of that man's identity guessed that he probably came from filming a scene as he wore a white robe and black hakama along with a samurai's helmet and sheathed katana.

"Oh shit! It's the rest of the Elite Four! That's amazing!" yelled a familiar voice. Miwa sighed again and Avery coughed. Kane had to turn away to hide a grin at Camelot's enthusiasm again. Leave it to the hyperactive one to not feel intimidated by his friend's presence. It was clear that another individual shared his opinion as an evil chuckle rang out. However not everybody shared their gusto.

Professor Mary scowled as she placed her hands on her hips like a disapproving mother. The expression looked so unnatural on the normally cheerful professor's face. She waited until the newcomers got close to rip one of them a new one. "Roan! How many times have we told you to just wait for the doors to open for you?!"

The intimidating man, Roan, laughed sinisterly with his ariados joining in. "Keh, I don't fucking care! If I want to break down doors, I'll break down doors!"

"Roan, you're scaring some of the students. Why don't you try quieting down?" said the new male twin. He glanced over the students, noting their nervous and uncomfortable gazes. He looked back only to see the older man glaring at him.

"Does it look like I care if I'm scaring them? Serves them right for being pussies." Some of the students bristled in slight anger at the obvious distain Roan had for those around him while others quickly lowered their gaze to not be petrified by the Elite Four member's own hateful glare. The adults shared similar feelings of anger and uneasiness. One of them immediately made it known.

"You better learn to curtail that tongue of yours. Otherwise, I will do it for you," Avery hissed. Roan simply smirked as he crossed his arms defiantly.

"I'll like to see you try, Old Man."

Eye twitching, the Elite Four member nearly broke his precious pipe in half at that nickname. Fortunately he didn't. Otherwise a huge fight would have erupted right then and there. Avery furiously stomped a step forward, Mary's hand on his arm stopping him from going any farther and starting a fight. "My name is Avery! A. VER. RY!" Obviously being called an "old man" was a sore spot for Avery despite his still relatively youthful appearance.

"Whatever, Old Man! I can call you what I want!" Roan laughed as he enjoyed the various reactions he got. He glanced over at Miwa, only to feel a small flame of irritation when the champion simply crossed her arms and tapped her fingers. She didn't even look at him. Roan's good mood evaporated when that one key figure didn't seem perturbed by his behavior. He scowled. "You got something you want to say, bitch?"

Fenrus growled at the disrespect Miwa's friend showed her, to which Ariados replied with his own hiss. The fire type began striding towards the Elite Four member yet stopped when Miwa placed a hand on his head. She still remained silent as she rubbed the arcanine's head affectionately, her eyes on her own Pokémon rather than her co-worker.

"Well?!" Roan asked again, anger mounting with every second that Miwa ignored him.

"…I have plenty to say, but nothing to an obnoxious brat desperate for attention."

Roan gritted his teeth as he stepped forward to confront the champion. "You little-."

"L-Let's just calm down," the samurai finally stuttered, stepping in between the two trainers. He couldn't take the tension anymore and had to say something. He held out his hands as if he could really stop his fellow Elite Four member and the champion from destroying the lab. His eyes darted back and forth anxiously. "There's no need to f-fight."

"Felix's right!" the sunny girl agreed. She giggled a bit in a small effort to lighten the tension. "Once you guys are done here, you can fight all you want at Pertinax. That's what you usually do anyways, right?"

"Unfortunately, yes. Roan doesn't seem to understand the skill gap between us," Miwa said. She finally looked at Roan, her eyes narrowed seriously. "And as much as I want to humiliate you in front of the students, we don't have time for that now. We have more important matters to deal with, so we'll have to finish this fight afterwards." The man growled lowly, obviously not pleased with the result of his taunting. He was sorely tempted to disregard everything his colleagues said and just go into his berserk mode. The students held their breath in anticipation. They fully expected pokeballs to just fly into the air to start a battle. However, Roan surprisingly stepped down.

"…feh, I'm holding your word on that."

A collective sigh of relief ran out, some people not even realizing that they held in their breath. Roan relaxed his stance, and Felix stepped away from him now that the taller man was certain he wouldn't suddenly attack like a rabid Pokémon. Now that that was settled, Miwa turned her attention back to the students. She suppressed a smirk at how some students still felt discomfort from the exchange between the skilled trainers. She waved a hand towards her friends.

"Allow me to introduce my acquaintances. This is Gordon Roan, Cantore Kailani, Cantore Caius, and Solberg Felix."

"Hello!" Kailani smiled brightly, waving to the students with both hands. Her youthful energy encouraged some of her juniors to wave back. She emitted as much energy as the professors, making it a bit interesting to see considering how she had a twin as well. Her brother, Caius, inclined his head in greeting, a similar smile on his face.

"It's very nice to meet you all." While he acted more poise compared to his sister, he still made it clear that he was an approachable spirit with energy to spare.

Roan, on the other hand, simply scowled as he spat on the side. He could care less about the students' opinions on him. Felix nervously lowered his eyes, his face reddening with every passing second as he felt eyes burning into his skull. He muttered something, possibly a greeting, but nobody could truly discern it. Felix suddenly gave a slight yelp when he felt something slap his back. He turned to pout at Kane, who only grinned idiotically.

"Please don't do that," he murmured.

"Just relax, Felix. As a movie star and Elite Four member, you should be used to the attention by now."

"I'll never get used to it…"

"Let's not waste any more time," Miwa said as she stared pointedly at Felix and Kane. The professor shrugged with rueful smile while the Elite Four member apologized for the both of them. After staring at them for a moment longer to let the message sink in, Miwa harrumphed and looked at the students. "I'm sure you have all heard about Team Annex stealing more and more Pokémon with each passing day." She paused for confirmation, and some people nodded. She continued, "As they have not done anything besides larcenies, only the police are involved. However, they still need to be dealt with immediately if we hope to stop their growing momentum. While the police are trying their best, we still have little to no knowledge of who Team Annex really is and what their true goals might be. They always somehow manage to give the police the slip.

"This is where you come in. On your journey, we want you to gather any information you can on Team Annex without notice. Anything at all. Their numbers, their Pokémon, their goals, anything you would deem useful in bringing them down." Miwa smirked. "And if you somehow manage to defeat Team Annex in the process, that's all more for the better. Any questions?"

It took a moment for the students to take in what the champion just briskly told them. When they finally realized the severity of their actual assignment, they sat in stunned silence, looking at some of their companions in disbelief. One of them raised both hands and motioned them in a _backup_ movement.

"Wait, wait, wait, wait…you want _us_ to stop a large criminal organization?" Neil asked incredulously. "Some of us don't even have Pokémon yet and you want us to fight them? Why don't you guys do it? You're the champion and Elite Four after all." Murmurs among the students reinforced that that particular question occurred to all of them. Miwa nodded, fully expecting that inquiry to arise. She was not at all surprised that Neil would be the one to voice that. She might have been slightly disappointed in him if he didn't since he was the one who challenged her to finish the obstacle course.

"Unfortunately, we have other duties to attend to. Team Annex so far hasn't posed a large enough threat to merit our involvement. Unless you can find some evidence of them planning something bigger, we will prioritize other tasks before Team Annex. However we can't allow them to continue their actions, so we are relying on you. Again, we are not asking you to charge straight into Team Annex. We want you to gather intel on the criminals."

"Pfft, that's just a nicer way of saying that you guys are really doing our dirty work in dealing with Team Annex," Roan simplified. He chuckled to himself as he scratched Ariados's chin. "You should be honored that we are even considering _you_ for this." Despite their best efforts to ignore him, the students still bristled in anger at his comments. Somehow he just had that ability to get under everybody's skin even if they attempted to pay him no attention.

Kailani quickly jumped in before any student do something stupid like rebuke Roan. "Of course, we're not going to send you out there without any ammo! Not only are Professor Kane and Mary going to give you a Pokémon, we'll be mentoring you throughout your whole journey as well!" Her smile faded slightly as she tapped her chin in thought. "Although, you might not be able to contact us sometimes because we'd be busy with other things."

"Wait…you don't mean…" Zion started to ask but had to stop himself in some fear that what he hoped to be true proved to be false. His eyes still shined optimistically for his wish.

Avery smirked. "That is right. The Elite Four and the professors would be your mentors. That is, if you choose to accept this mission. Miwa has kindly declined to be a mentor due to…her potential group likely having an advantage over the other groups." While both Kailani and Caius giggled at the superiority in that statement, Roan snorted in derision. Felix chose not to comment, still hiding in his fragile shell.

Excitement rippled through the students at what the adults just told them. Not only would they get a Pokémon, they would also be mentored by a group of the strongest trainers in the region? Sure, some of the older students realized how dangerous the task the Elite Four and professors requested would be. However, they also understood that if they were to embark on their own separate journeys, the danger would be the same, if not worse. Here, they would have somebody to turn to should something bad happen to them. As a result, with how all of them having a specific goal in mind whether it's to get stronger or befriend a lot of Pokémon, the students were eager to seize this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. However one student noticed something strange. He made it known now.

"Wouldn't the group with the professors be at a disadvantage in terms of battling? No offense," Malcolm said quickly when he realized how disrespectful he might have sounded. Avery raised an eyebrow while Roan scoffed. Felix continued to avoid looking at any of the students eye-to-eye as the Kailani and Caius glanced at each other with a knowing look. Miwa tapped her fingers, and Kane finally burst out laughing to quell the awkward silence that had followed Malcolm's statement.

"Haha! You got that right! We're so rusty, we make a childhood bike ride smoothly!"

Mary covered her mouth, but the upturned corners of her mouth made it clear she also found the student's question amusing. "Hehe, no offense taken! We might be worse than the current Elite Four, but we can still offer some knowledge that they wouldn't know."

"We're not that stupid…" Felix muttered. Mary made an apologetic gesture.

"I didn't mean it like that, Felix."

"Hmph, don't let their idiocy fool you," Miwa said as she uncrossed her arms. "Mary and Kane refused the positions of Elite Four in order to continue their research in peace. Kailani and Caius kindly took up the torch in their place." That truth made some students' eyes widen in shock as they looked at the happy-go-lucky pair of siblings. Kane pouted at the reveal.

"Miwa! You promised not to say anything to anybody!" He sighed in resignation. "Eh, I suppose it's all right that they know, as long as they keep it a secret." He looked to where a short student raised her hand. The professor recognized her as one of the older students despite her small stature. Kane gestured for her to ask her question. "Yes, Amorette?"

"Is there a reason why you want to keep this a secret?" she asked.

"We're already renowned as Pokémon professors. Sometimes, our 'fans' would disrupt our work. Spreading the fact that we had the potentiality to be members of the Elite Four would only bring even more unwanted attention and questions, not to mention certain conflicts," Mary explained. Amorette nodded at the answer, understanding completely.

"The reason for their secrecy doesn't matter," Miwa said, catching everybody's attention again. "What matters now is your decision. We won't hold it against you if you choose to refuse our request. It is, after all, a great burden that we don't want anybody to carry. However, we know that you have the potential to complete such a task thus why we are asking you in the first place. If you have no qualms with this, then stay. Otherwise, leave now and we will provide you the means to return home."

Her words were met with silence as the students mused over what to do. Some already knew that they were going to accept while others still weighed the pros against the cons. One student, Violetta, still had a question she asked shyly:

"If…if we ever need help, we can just contact our mentors, right? And they will pick up, right?"

Caius replied, "We'll try to be in touch with our respective groups as much as possible. If you can't contact your own mentor, you can always contact one of the other Elite Four, the professors, or even the champion herself."

"I won't pick up," Miwa immediately said, which was followed by Kane's laughter.

"Don't worry. She'll pick up," he reassured the students.

"As long as you prove not to be a nuisance," Avery cautioned. "Either way, our purpose is to help you, so do not be afraid to contact us. We are still very much human…for the most part." He chuckled lightly to himself as he inhaled some more smoke. He exchanged a knowing glance with his fellow Elite Four members and the champion. The students noticed the rather mischievous exchange but made no comment.

"And if Team Annex is right there to steal our Pokémon?" Forrest asked.

"Especially if Team Annex is right there to steal your Pokémon," Caius replied fiercely. "Contact us right away with an emergency call."

"Any other questions?" Kailani asked, tilting her head to the side. The silence stayed for a moment. Then a young man went forth with his question.

"…what about our parents? Do they know what we're doing?" Barrett asked. At that inquiry, some students flinched slightly. If the adults of the room noticed, they didn't make it known. They rightly guessed that the relationship between those students and their parents was rather delicate. Miwa tapped her fingers as she exhaled.

"…for the most part, your guardians only know that we have selected you for special training due to us seeing potential in you. They have no idea that-."

"We're using you as bait." Roan smirked. He chuckled when Miwa glared at him. "It's true though. We're basically throwing them out there to deal with Team Annex themselves."

"We're not asking them to look for and fight Team Annex by themselves," Miwa scolded. "We're asking them to gather any information they can get about Team Annex so we have legitimate reasons to deal with the criminals ourselves. Other than that, they are free to forge their own paths."

"In short and in a way, yes," Mary answered before a fight between Roan and Miwa could break out. "While it is true your parents know that you will be going on a journey under our guidance, they do not know your covert mission. And we ask that you don't tell anybody about it either, even if you choose to refuse."

"Yet…judging by your presence, it seems as if you all are accepting this," Avery said. "We will give you one last chance to reconsider." That statement had some students glance at each other uncertainly. Namely, Violetta, as the youngest student, turned to Neil for some guidance. He whispered something to her, which she nodded back determinedly. The young man grinned at that and patted her back encouragingly. The adults waited patiently for her to come to her decision. When nobody stood up to leave, Miwa smirked.

"Looks like we have some good kids after all." She was about to say more when eight loud, beeping sounds interrupted her. The number of interruptions that day was surprising, almost as if the Pokémon gods wanted to stop this from happening. The students expected irritation to cross her face, so they were surprised when they saw her mouth deepen into a serious frown. She, along with the Elite Four and the professors, all simultaneously looked at their Pokeapps.

"Hmm, it's been a while since we had a sighting. It's quite unfortunate that it has to be now," the students heard the champion mutter. Miwa looked at her friends. "I'll take care of it, so continue with the debriefing. Mary, keep on track." Although it was clear that Miwa's friends wanted to argue for one reason or another, they knew that now wasn't the time. The sighting had to be dealt with as soon as possible, and they trusted her to do so. Besides, the rest had to be here in order to get their groups organized while Miwa was free to do as she pleased for the time being.

The female professor nodded solemnly. "All right. Be careful, Miwa."

"Hmph, who do you take me for?" The woman smirked. She climbed on Fenrus's back. Once his trainer was secured, the arcanine let out a loud howl before racing through the doors. Some students had to cover their eyes with their arms and grind their feet into the ground to protect themselves from the windy aftermath of Fenrus's speed. Soon enough the champion was gone. Although the students knew that they would run into her again eventually due to their assignment, for some reason it felt a bit empty without her. Her presence, though daunting, also brought some security that despite all odds things would work out in the end. The silence lasted for a moment before a slight chuckle ran out.

"Finally, the bitch is gone." Of course it was Roan. He rubbed his hands together. "Now…if another person can make like a clefairy and disappear, that would be great."

Avery glared at him. While he understood that Roan actually didn't mean what he said, the older man still couldn't stop feeling irritated by his junior's statement. "Do not think I do not know who you are talking about."

"All right, you two. Settle down. Miwa won't forgive me if we're all still here by the time she gets back," Mary said. She looked at the students. "Anyways, to pick up from where we left off. Since everybody accepts our proposal, we will continue explaining some things.

"Thanks to a variety of breeders, we were able to amass certain Pokémon to give to you for this journey. For some of you, they will be your first Pokémon. For the choosing you will be given a random number, and we will call you in ascending order to pick a Pokémon." As she explained, her brother walked among the students with a top hat. One by one, a student drew a piece of paper with a number. Judging by the various expressions, some were obviously happier than others about their position. After Kane finished passing out the numbers, he retrieved another tray full of pokeballs. While this tray also had slips of paper, these contained the names and pictures of the Pokémon resting inside the pokeballs rather than the students' names. Professor Mary continued her explanation:

"Once you have chosen your Pokémon, we will assign you to groups of three along with your mentor. This process might take a while, so I suggest you familiarize yourself with your new Pokémon during that time. We will also provide you with a special Pokeapp that includes our contact information. Make sure you don't lose it. Miwa wouldn't forgive you if some random stranger outside of this circle contacted her for an autograph. After that, you will begin your journey across Duewel. We fully expect you to stick with your group at all times. Failure to do so will result in your expulsion of this assignment. While we won't ask for the starter Pokémon back, do note that the Elite Four and champion will be aware of your action and may refuse to even see you in the future. This is mainly for safety reasons. While we have reason to believe that Team Annex usually goes after intermediate trainers, there is still safety in numbers. Any questions?"

Without Miwa, the students didn't have to worry about not being able to ask a question in time. However, nobody seemed to have thought up a question for the moment. They were more eager to get a Pokémon than ask questions. Some students were practically glowing at the thought of finally receiving their first Pokémon. Mary smiled at their eagerness, even if some of the students attempted to hide it.

"Then let's get right to it. Would the student with the number 1 on their paper step forward?"

Amorette Garciacano stood up from her chair and carefully made her way to the group of adults. Her smile spoke equal volumes of excitement and nervousness as Kane held out the tray towards her. The student looked through all the Pokémon. She recognized them as the various starters throughout the different regions and knew that she was extremely fortunate indeed to be chosen for this assignment. After some deliberation, she picked up the pokeball labeled with a bluish-and-milky-colored mouse. Clasping the capsule joyfully with both hands, Amorette returned to her seat.

The students noticed how Mary was writing their choices down a notebook. Most likely it was for them to make the groups afterwards. She finished and called out, "Number 2?"

Robert Yew hesitantly stepped forward. He didn't want to take too long so that the other students could choose their own starters in a reasonable amount of time. As he looked at the pokeballs, the young man flinched when he felt somebody staring intensely at him. That made him rush a bit, and he chose a blue axolotls. As he turned to hurry back to his seat, Robert yelped slightly when he bumped into somebody. He fixed his glasses and jumped a bit when he saw that he had walked into Roan. The Elite Four member had a scowl on his face, prompting the student to rush back to his seat before he could be beaten into a pulp. Surprisingly, Roan didn't say anything, only continuing to stare intently at Robert. His strange behavior caught the other adults' attention but they made no comment about it.

"Number 3."

Morgan Drake strode forth. Unlike the first two students, he barely made a sound once he reached the professors. His eyes focused on each and every one pokeball, his expression unreadable. He wondered which starter Pokémon would be a good companion to his zorua as well as be a good fighter. After all, nothing was better than a good battle. Finally the student grabbed a green-and-brown spiny Pokémon before making his way back to his seat.

Immediately afterwards, Stylen Chrial leapt from his seat to bounce towards the professors. Mary couldn't stop from grinning and Kane let out a short laugh. The young man scanned through his choices. His eyes stopped at one particular picture of a black cat. Stylen smiled as he instinctively knew that that Pokémon was the one for him. The student excitedly grabbed it and bounced back to his chair. He was extremely tempted to release his partner right now. However, the other students didn't do it, so he decided to follow their example for the time being.

In contrast to the last show of speed, Evelyn Nnoko walked gracefully to the front. She nodded a small greeting to the Elite Four, an action that earned her nods in the case of Avery and the twins while Felix returned his eyes to the floor. For some reason, Roan still scowled at Robert, but Evelyn didn't mind the cold shoulder. She turned her attention to her options before her. She noted the already chosen Pokémon as she also considered the other Pokémon. After some thought, the young woman made up her mind. She took the pokeball of a green snake and returned to her seat.

The next student up was Malcolm Cunningham. He also walked up calmly to the stand. However, the professors could still tell that he was extremely excited to prove himself to them. As he glanced over the starter Pokémon, he tapped his foot in careful deliberation. He wanted a good Pokémon that not only would help him get far and show his brother they could do it through willpower but also a Pokémon that he could help bring the best out of. Malcolm was about to reach for a pokeball when he noticed the blue crocodile's pokeball moving, as if the Pokémon was trying to break free. He immediately changed his mind and grabbed that pokeball, muttering a small promise to it to let it out once he had permission to do so.

Violetta Hallows shyly took small steps forward. Kane smiled at her encouragingly and held out the tray for her to choose. The young student glanced through the pictures, noting their names afterwards. She didn't notice that Hermes was floating behind her, also examining the pokeballs. Although Miwa had left, the gastly knew that if he started trouble, one of the other adults would report him no doubt. He was curious as to which starter his friend would pick. He raised an eyebrow when Violetta took the pokeball containing a blue frog. The girl looked at Hermes briefly before saying, "I like him. He's cute." and returning to her seat. The gastly did a smoky shrug as he followed close behind.

Perhaps it was a coincidence, or maybe it was just luck, but Neil Berenson patted the little girl's back as he took his turn. He leisurely strolled to the front, already having a certain type of Pokémon in mind. He took a quick look over and saw exactly the type of Pokémon he wanted. The young man grabbed the pokeball of a yellow fox and drifted back to his seat, as quickly and quietly as he came.

Another quiet and cold individual went up to choose their Pokémon. Marius Seifer stepped up for his decision. Only one column had been emptied why another column still retained all its pokeballs. Marius looked over that one column, noting the Pokémon and the region they originated from. One starter in particular stood out to him. Perhaps that Pokémon reminded him of another in a way. Or he could see it helping him achieve one of his dreams. Either vision, Marius took the orange lizard from the column and went back to his seat.

While Zion Voltage was extremely excited to choose his starter, he felt extremely nervous walking towards the group of adults. Not because somebody took a Pokémon he wanted, but because the ariados still clung onto Roan's back, the Elite Four member still glaring at Robert for some reason. It took nearly all his willpower not to grab a pokeball and make a run for it. He felt that at any moment Ariados would pounce him and suck out all his blood. At one point the student jumped when he noticed the bug and poison type shift into a more comfortable spot. Zion felt sweat dripping down his back. Fortunately he managed to look through his choices relatively calmly and choose a blue sea lion before rushing for safety. The professors didn't quite see what the problem was, no doubt mentally scratching their heads at Zion's abrupt actions.

Forrest Mcintosh already knew that he wasn't exactly a favorite in Avery and the professors' book with his tardiness, so he didn't want to do anything to worsen his reputation. His ukulele thumps synchronized with his footsteps as he approached the group at a reasonable enough speed. The young man felt three pairs of eyes looking at him more intently than the rest, guessing rightly whom they belonged to. While one pair seemed slightly hostile, the other two were more curious and encouraging. Forrest initially wanted to avoid certain starters for logic reasons. However, the stares only spurred him to prove that the champion didn't make a mistake in retracting her initial expulsion. He decided the best way to do so was to face his fears and choose a blue-and-white otter. That act made him a bit more confident as he went for his seat.

It was Genevieve Nightingale's turn. She rose from her chair with little Aurora in tow. This caused some raised eyebrows, but Genevieve didn't notice. She confidently went up to the group of adults. While she looked at the remaining pokeballs, a confused look passed over Kailani. The Elite Four member had been wondering about the toddler in the student's arms for a while. She whispered inquiringly to her brother as she couldn't hold in her curiosity. In a lowered tone Caius replied with his answer.

"Really?!" Kailani couldn't help shrieking. She gave an apologetic look when Caius motioned her to keep it down. Avery looked over at the twins, guessing what they had been conversing about.

"I have already spoken to her about her child," he said as he refilled his pipe with some herbs. He inhaled it deeply. "There is nothing more to discuss." His statement was met with some surprised sounds from the students. They couldn't stop their curiosity, and judgement, from showing on their faces as they took another look at Genevieve. Yet they quickly wiped away any potential ill-will when Avery swept the room with a glare. Caius rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

"Huh…it was just a guess, but I didn't think I would be right." Kailani looked a bit more shaken than her brother at the truth. However, there was no contempt in her eyes, only bewildered wonderment. Genevieve flushed slightly from the attention. Her hold on her daughter tightened slightly, and Aurora responded by returning the hug. However, both of them relaxed when Mary gave them an encouraging smile.

"There's nothing to be ashamed about. Go ahead and pick your starter."

Kane emphasized his sister's words with his own smile and stretched the tray out to Genevieve. The young mother adjusted her hold on her daughter to let the little one pick. With a slight gurgle and without any hesitation Aurora reached for the pokeball above the green turtle picture. It seemed as though she understood how important the red-and-white capsule was to her mother as she held onto it tightly. Genevieve carefully made her way back, noticing some lingering stares from the students but essentially ignoring them.

Evelyn Clarke was still processing what she had just learned until Mary's call for the next student broke her train of thought. Evelyn then realize that it was actually her turn now to choose. She shot up with an apology for making the professors wait and headed towards them. The cheerful professors only smiled in understanding. The student scanned the pokeballs, noting that less than half the original amount remained. That actually didn't bother her since she saw a rather interesting starter she liked. Not to mention, judging from its appearance, it might be able to help her with her horrible sense of direction. Or at least help her find a way back to town once she became lost. Evelyn took the tan owl's pokeball, excited to let her plusle and snubbull meet their new teammate later.

The moment it was his turn, Camelot Groove jumped up with a loud "finally!" It was amazing to see the young man sit silently for as long as he did. Everybody could tell how much it killed him to do so as that shout reached beyond the thick walls of the lab. With every student prior, Camelot fidgeted and fidgeted until his turn came. He practically sprinted to the front to see which Pokémon were left. He didn't seem disappointed at all and eagerly grabbed a green dinosaur. "This one!" In his haste to return to his seat to fidget until the time to release their starter, he didn't see Avery bury his face in a hand and shake his head. The man's chikorita patted his back comfortingly with a vine.

Jack Yuki was similarly excited to the point of wanting to race to the front like Camelot and grab his Pokémon. However he attempted to play it cool like some of the students prior. That unfortunately didn't work out that well for him as his feet stubbornly tangled themselves around his chair. He gave a slight yelp when he fell forward, startling the students around him. Thankfully Jack managed to regain his balance in time. He chuckled a bit in embarrassment in response to some students' giggles. The young man regained his composure and steadily walked to professors. Kane winked at Jack, causing another nervous chuckle to slip out from the student. However he turned his attention to his choices. There was still a reasonable amount left. After a quick deliberation, he decided on the orange chicken.

Before Rhys Dignam could even leave his seat, somebody's Pokeapp went off. Felix's blush deepened when all eyes in the room snapped to him, the loud tone easily giving him away if his frightened jump hadn't. He murmured an apology as he took a few steps from the group for some privacy. He picked up the call and apologized fervently to whoever was on the other side. They seemed to be scolding him as it took a while for him to stop apologizing and listen to the caller. The Elite Four member finally said goodbye with another apology before walking back to his original position.

"Sorry…that was my manager. She told me to finish things up here quickly so I can get back to the shoot."

Mary waved the apology away. "It's fine, Felix. We're almost done here anyways. Just a few more students, and we'll get the groups formed in no time." The actor nodded gratefully, and the professor gestured for Rhys to proceed. The interruption didn't deter the young man, although he wished the ringtone hadn't been that loud. Despite being among the last ones to choose his Pokémon, from his quiet observations the main starter he wanted had yet to be chosen. As a result, Rhys was able to quickly take the green gecko's pokeball and retreat back into the gathering of students without being in the spotlight for too long.

Using her ability, Blake Noxic had a feeling she would choose one particular starter over the rest. She just had to get closer to confirm her suspicions. The young woman strode forth with a purpose. Once she was close enough, she looked at the pokeball containing her initial choice. As she had suspected, the orange chimp seemed to be a good match with her own personality. Blake could already imagine the great sparring matches between her, the starter, and her riolu. She attempted to keep her excitement on the down low as the student took that pokeball with her back to her seat.

Barrett didn't mind that he was last. If anything, that might make his choices a bit easier. He quietly went up to see which Pokémon were left. The remaining choices weren't bad at all as he didn't exactly have a particular Pokémon in mind to choose. The young man didn't notice that he had grabbed the chain of his necklace until he tasted metal in thought. His mind wandered to his current team so far and decided that perhaps one Pokémon would help him achieve his goals better than the rest. Barrett chose the pokeball with the blue turtle inside, choosing to also ignore some weird looks he received when he picked up the capsule with his left hand. He inclined his head in thanks before walking back.

Kane gave a sigh of relief as he finally set the tray down after holding it for so long. He shook the soreness out of his arms with a painful groan, earning a giggle from Kailani. The professor gave her a suffering look.

"Next time, one of you hold it."

"You just had to pass it."

"Now that you have all chosen your Pokémon, we will group you up based on our observations and your chosen starters," Mary said, ignoring the exchange between her brother and friend. "This will take a while, so go ahead and take this time to get to know your new Pokémon. We'll let you know when we finish."

"Be sure not to cause too much trouble!" Kailani chirped cheerfully as she followed her friends to stand some distance away so the students couldn't hear their deliberations. Not like there was a chance of that happening. The new trainers were too eager to meet their new partners. Barrett did restrain himself a little bit though. He wanted to see how the other students fared first before releasing his squirtle.

Surprisingly, many of the starters warmed up to their new trainers rather quickly. Marius's charmander was in his arms, enjoying the head scratches he got. Neil and Stylen already let their fennekin and litten on their shoulders and found their favorite scratching spots. Genevieve's turtwig tolerated Aurora's curious hands rather well as he stood calmly for her to discover what was in front of her.

Violetta introduced her froakie to Hermes, only for the little goofball attempt to eat the ghost type. Robert's mudkip, Amorette's cyndaquil, and Evelyn's rowlett quickly found play pals in each other and took turns chasing one another with their trainers keeping a close eye on them while they conversed. When it was the cyndaquil's turn, he quickly ran to tag Zion's popplio, who only gave a slightly confused look from the other starter to his trainer.

After getting used to their trainers, two energetic Pokémon, Malcolm's totodile and Forrest's oshawott, locked eyes and tried to jump each other. Things quickly got out of hand as Blake's chimchar and Jack's torchic also joined in. Fortunately before any real damage could be done, a golduck and Alolan raichu quickly split them up with their psychic powers. The starters were rather confused why they were suddenly floating in the air when none of them were flying types. Their trainers plucked them and held onto them tightly, glancing curiously at the golduck and Alolan raichu as they did so. The electric and psychic type squeaked adorably while the water type jerked a claw towards the group of adults, signaling that they belonged to one or two of them. The involved students thanked the two Pokémon for stopping the fight and were extra careful not to let their starters wander off for another fight.

However not everybody was having the easiest of times with their starters. When Evelyn's snivy took one look at her, the grass type turned her back to her and pointed her nose in the air. Evelyn attempted to coax her, but the snivy wasn't having it. Camelot's chikorita seemed to have a princess attitude as she argued with her trainer loudly about something. Morgan's chespin, on the other hand, tried to pick a fight with the golduck despite his trainer's command.

Similarly to Barrett, Rhys simply sat off to one side apart from everybody else with his treeko in his lap, both observing the others. The young man noticed how Barrett was the only one who didn't release his starter, giving him a slightly curious look. The older student shrugged an answer.

He then looked at the pokeball in his hand. Perhaps it was time now for him to see his starter. However, he made sure to release Vanitas first before introducing the newest member of their team. A flash of white, the zorua shook his head quickly, glaring at Barrett after he did so. The young man shrugged. "Sorry, but I couldn't release you right away."

"Zo," Vanitas snorted but begrudgingly accepted the apology anyways. Then he noticed the pokeball in Barrett's hand and sniffed at it. "Zo zorua?"

Barrett nodded in reply. "Yeah, this is our new teammate. Let's say hello." He tapped the release mechanism. In a flash of white, a brown and pale yellow shell appeared. However the actual squirtle was nowhere to been seen. "Uh oh," Barrett said as his suspicions grew when the squirtle didn't pop out for a couple more minutes. He didn't expect his new Pokémon to be shy or scared to the point that it would hide from both him and Vanitas for such a long time.

Vanitas walked forward to sniff at the shell. His ears perked when he heard the slightest of whimpers from inside. He turned to his trainer with a rather sad expression. "Zo zo, zorua."

"Yeah, I thought so. It might take a while for him to not be so scared of us," Barrett muttered. The young man pondered whether to return the squirtle to spare him any more trauma or keep him out in order to draw him out. Barrett chose the latter and gently grabbed the squirtle's shell. He felt the shell vibrate a bit. "It's okay, Bruno. Van and I aren't going to hurt you. We just want to be your friends."

"Zorua."

"…" Still no movement. However when Barrett lifted the newly named Bruno off the ground, he at least didn't hear any scared squeaks. He gently placed the squirtle on his lap with Bruno facing him, careful not to make any sudden movements. Even if the student couldn't see him in the darkness, he knew the squirtle could see him.

"There we go. A bit better," he soothed. "Won't you come out to say hello?" After a moment's hesitation, Barrett felt the shell rumble again. However, rather than a frightened sound, a blue head popped out. Barrett could still see some fear in Bruno's eyes, but at least the squirtle was out now. "There, that wasn't so bad, was it?"

"Zo zo, rua," Vanitas added his own bit in as he careful made his way into Bruno's line of vision. While the squirtle flinched slightly, after seeing the zorua posing no threat, he crept his head back out. Vanitas gave him a reassuring smile, which Bruno shyly returned.

"…Squir-."

"Okay! It's time for you to meet your groups!" Professor Kane's loud voice made all three of them jump. Bruno immediately retracted his head back into his shell. Barrett cursed slightly as his coaxing seemed to be for naught. However he couldn't really blame Kane for startling the squirtle. The student decided to keep his starter close in order to get him used to being outside and perhaps poke out of his shell once again.

All the students looked to the adults who had walked back to their original positions. Their expressions gave nothing away about their decisions, and Professor Mary stepped up to address the students:

"In making your groups, we did look at which starter you chose. However we also attempted to pair you up with other students whom we felt would help you grow and you could also help grow. Your mentors were chosen much like the same way, even if two of them specifically requested certain people." That last statement had some students raising their eyebrows, wondering exactly who said mentors could be. They quickly refocused their attention on Mary's continuation:

"After we call the members of your group, your mentor will step forward and give you those special Pokeapps. They will then guide you to your first destination. While you do have a say in where you will like to go first, ultimately, your mentor will decide. I can guarantee though that Felix's group must go to Cotidianus City for him to finish the shoot, so fair warning. They won't stay with you forever, but they will stay for at least the rest of today.

"Remember, you are required to stay with your team at all times. Keep your eyes and ears peeled for any word about Team Annex and report anything immediately. But most importantly of all, be careful and try your best." Her voice became gentle and reassuring. "Things would only get tough from here on. You may have something horrible happen to you. You may fight with your peers. You may lose something major like a battle or a friend. You may feel like nobody is there for you, and the world has turned on you. But you can't let that stop you. You have to keep moving forward. That is the most we are asking of you. Do you understand?"

Her words could only be answered by silence and nods. Mary smiled at the students, prompting some to smile back. She could see the eagerness and youthfulness in their eyes along with a determination to not fail them. She was extremely glad to be a part of this. They were very good students and people, and she had a feeling that most, if not all, would go very far. The professor cleared her throat and looked down at her list. "Now, without further ado, I will start placing you in your groups. The first group will be…"


	6. Episode 3: Sableye the Teamwork

While Zion Voltage was absolutely ecstatic that his Pokémon journey was finally starting today, never in a billion years would he have thought that he would be starting it in the comfortable seat of a private, first-class jet that belonged to one of the Elite Four. And yet, here he was with his new popplio in his lap, both of them looking around in wonder at the splendor surrounding them. He sat on one of the sofas with one other group member, Evelyn Nnoko, and her snivy. Jack Yuki sat opposite of them with Felix at his side. Jack's torchic, on the other hand, was busy running around the room to burn off some energy. A constant "Chic! Chic! Chic!" kept echoing in the plane, causing Evelyn's snivy to glare at him. A small table with four glasses of water separated them, though they could also reach the ends of the sofas for more table space. At the other end of the couches, a bar stood empty with some high chairs. Beautiful lights hung overhead to illuminate how expensive everything was, the black and white coloration also highlighting that fact. The student didn't dare to move past his seat in fear that he might disturb something and get in trouble for it. Although Felix paid more attention to the floor, cameras still watched their movements.

Compared to everything else in the space, the occupants looked like they didn't belong at all. Felix still wore his samurai garb, putting him further in the past than anybody else. Although the outfit easily costed thousands, its style was still outdated amidst the technology surrounding the wearer. Even then, the Elite Four's blonde hair and blue eyes added to his strange style when the norm for a samurai was black hair and dark eyes.

Zion, on the other hand, wore a short-sleeved T-shirt with a lightning bolt over the heart and a smirking pikachu on the back. He also had on dark cargo pants with zippers for adjusting the length and bright yellow shoes. A lightning bolt-shaped necklace and black ring on his right hand completed the simple image. His short, black hair spiked up added slightly to his height of 5'10". Hazel eyes behind midnight blue glasses looked around in constant awe.

Though Evelyn's almond-shaped eyes had bags underneath, those steel grey pupils stared with a cold air that would make most people think twice about messing with her. Her long black singles braid with its upper half tied in a ponytail and white highlights at the bottom would have flown free in the wind. Her brown skin added to her attractiveness along with the beauty mark on her right eyelid. Evelyn's furry black hoodie with a pokeball decal on the back accentuated her curves despite her rather lean body, her button up, collared, light blue shirt with a messily tied white tie helping in the emphasis. A simple tan belt kept her dark blue jean capris pants up while she walked in black high top sneakers with no socks and white laces. Black wrist gloves and silver rose studs completed her image.

While Jack stood shorter than Zion, he was taller than Evelyn's 5'0" with his own height of 5'5". His dirty blonde, messy hair swept in a fashion similar to a beloved video game character of green. While it didn't cover his violet eyes, it did cover his small ears and slightly framed his heart-shaped face. Compared to his teammates, his attire was rather simple as he wore a white with black lining hoodie to cover a red shirt and blue jeans with black sneakers. His accessories included a locket with a star engraved on it and skateboard gloves.

The three students heard a small cough, and they looked to where Felix was shifting nervously. It looked like the Elite Four member was trying to muster up the courage to finally talk to his group. The only thing he had really said before starting the trip was how sorry he was for rushing them so he could get back in time to finish his shoot. Even as they had gotten on the plane, Felix avoided speaking to his group until they had taken off. If it weren't for an attendant offering them the drinks now untouched on the table, the students might have forgotten what the actor's stuttering voice sounded like.

Felix flinched when he felt the students staring at him. It wasn't as bad when there were more of them, but it still made him nervous for some reason. He inhaled shakily to steady his rapidly pulsing heart and looked up. He smiled weakly in response to his group's curious stares.

"S-Sorry," he apologized again. The movie star mentally berated himself for starting things out like that. "I mean…why don't w-we introduce ourselves? Get t-to know each other? J-Jack?!" The name came out an octave higher than the Elite Four member wanted. His face turned red again as he muttered another apology. His eyes escaped back to the ground, his balled-up fists tightening on his knees.

"Hey…it's okay. You don't have to push yourself," Zion said, trying to reassure him. It felt a bit strange, especially since Felix was renowned not only as an elite trainer but also as a famous actor. Zion wondered how the man could do his job given his meek personality. From what the student remembered of the movies Felix starred in, many of the characters the actor played starkly contrasted this introvert sitting here.

"…Take some deep breaths to calm yourself. We can wait," Evelyn said quietly. Jack nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, take all the time in the world. We don't mind."

The Elite Four member still wouldn't look at them in the eye. However they could hear him taking deep breaths as per Evelyn's instructions. After a while, Felix's breathing quieted down and he looked up with another weak smile. "S-Sorry. I…I think I should be good now." He inhaled shallowly one last time before saying, "Okay, who w-wants to break the ice first?" Felix looked around while his group only stared back at him. A few moments passed before Zion raised his hand with a friendly wave.

"I guess I'll go first then. I'm Zion Voltage. I go to Pyroar Pokémon School and I'm actually from Cotidianus City, so I can show you guys around if you want to." Zion smiled brightly at his teammates. He glanced slightly over to Felix, who nodded in appreciation for the precedent. While Evelyn retained her neutral expression, a wide smile crossed Jack's face.

"Oh, that's pretty _shocking_ that we're going to your hometown first," Jack said. Silence stretched between them after that rather strange remark. Felix blinked in slight confusion as Evelyn slapped her forehead in annoyance of what the future would undoubtedly hold. They all looked at her briefly in confusion before she waved their stares away. However, it didn't bother Zion as he returned Jack's smile and pointed towards his teammate with finger guns.

"Haha, get shocked."

Evelyn couldn't stop the small, exasperated sigh from escaping. Nobody noticed.

"But yeah. My folks own the Voltage Bakery. We can get some snacks while we tour the city."

"O-Oh! That's your family's bakery?" Felix smiled a little more brightly. "They make the best mint berry muffins. I…I always have to have one before I start a shoot." His voice had dropped into a whisper as he looked to the side to hide his blushing face. At that statement, Zion scratched the back of his head in embarrassment and pride. He knew his parents' cooking was amazing, but amazing enough for a star to always buy muffins from them? The student made a mental note to tell his parents once they dropped by.

"Wow, thanks. I'm really flattered that you like my parents' cooking. That means we have to get some once we land."

The actor nodded with a bit more vigor than was expected of him. He really liked those muffins. "I-I'm looking forward to it already…" Felix then looked over at Evelyn. Some of the color had returned to his face, and while he still stuttered a little, the tension in his shoulders relaxed slightly. "What about you, Evelyn? W-Would you like to go next?"

"I'm Evelyn Nnoko from Milotic Pokémon School in Lympha Town," the female student said tersely. When she declined to say anymore, Felix shifted nervously again. He wanted to ask her to say more about herself so that they knew her a bit better. However he couldn't find the courage to do so and decided to move onto the next person. If Evelyn noticed his hesitant motions, she didn't let him know.

"What about you, Jack?"

"Sure thing. I'm Jack Yuki, but I go by Aisen, so it'll be great if you guys could call me that from now on." Aisen grinned easily.

"Okay, Aisen," Zion tried to say and liked the way it rolled off his tongue. His curiosity got the better of him and he asked, "Any reason why you like that name better than Jack? Just curious."

"Hmm? Why?" Aisen didn't even noticed that a lock of his hair was being rubbed between his fingers. "…I just prefer it that way." His groupmate nodded in understanding and dropped the subject. "Oh, right. I'm from Crabominable Pokémon School in Manus Town. And I actually used to live in Cotidianus City but I'm not sure how much of it has changed since I've live there, so it won't look very normal to me." Another sigh became barely audible at the subtle pun.

"Oh, you too? That's interesting," Felix muttered to himself. Now that he felt a bit more comfortable with his group, he found it a bit easier to converse with them. Perhaps being a mentor to these students wouldn't be that difficult at all. The Elite Four member was just about to tell them a little bit about himself to complete the introductions when a loud crash made all of them jump.

"Toooorrrrr!" cried Aisen's torchic. The small group looked over to see that the little chick Pokémon had somehow knocked the trashcan over his head. The torchic now ran frantically around the airplane in a futile attempt to get it off of him.

"Ryder!" Aisen yelled as he stood up from his seat to chase his starter. Zion and Felix had to hold back their slight laughter while they watched the young man finally catch up to his torchic. Even Evelyn seemed to have some trouble keeping her mask at the rather hilarious scene as her mouth twitched slightly. Aisen quickly removed the trashcan from Ryder's head. However, he unfortunately timed it in unison with Ryder suddenly blasting Ember. "Whoa!" Aisen yelped as he fell backwards and out of the way of the late attack. That left the Ember to fly towards the couch at his team. Zion instinctively covered his popplio while both Evelyn and her snivy braced themselves as if to retaliate.

Without missing a beat, Felix released his ace Pokémon. "Sableye, Protect." Even before he fully materialized, the dark-and-ghost type had put up a powerful, green shield that absorbed the Ember attack. By the time Sableye finished taking form, the Protect had disappeared along with the danger. Sableye chuckled mischievously as the students froze in stunned silence. They couldn't help but stare in awe at the Elite Four member's quick and appropriate action. If there had been any rare questions of Felix's competency as a mentor, those were quickly wiped away by his recent demonstration. Said man patted his Pokémon on the head with a string of coos before noticing the stares. His face immediately deepened into a ripe tomato as he gestured nervously. "P-Please don't stare at me like that!" At his words, Aisen snapped out of his stunned stupor to recognize the gravity of his actions.

"Ack! I'm sorry, Mr. Solberg! Ryder didn't mean it!" Aisen apologized for his torchic.

"Tor…" Ryder chirped sadly in apology as well. Seeing the guilty looks on the student and Pokémon's face only flustered the Elite Four member.

"I-It's fine! I'm just glad I-I was able to react in time…" Felix muttered. Then Aisen's form of address hit him and he became flustered even more. "P-Please, call me Felix. It f-feels weird being called 'mister'."

"Mist-I mean, Felix, that was amazing though!" Zion couldn't keep the excitement out of his voice, his popplio clapping from the infectious energy of his trainer. "You weren't even phased or anything when that Ember came flying at us!" Even Evelyn, stoic as she was, didn't keep the admiration from her eyes. While Snivy attempted to act uninterested, she kept one approving eye on Felix and Sableye. The dark-and-ghost type didn't miss that look and smirked to her, causing her to snort and look away.

"Was it your training that allowed Sableye to react even before it was fully released from its pokeball?" Evelyn asked curiously.

"Yeah, that was awesome!" Aisen regained his cheerful nature when he realized that Felix wasn't mad at him or his torchic for Ryder's mistake. The student quickly hurried back to sit down on the couch with Ryder in his arms. "I didn't know Pokémon could do that!"

Felix couldn't help but blush at the praise. "Actually I…I didn't know that they could do that either. It was only when Miwa did it that we um…t-the rest of the Elite Four asked her to teach us." He shuddered slightly. "Believe me, it was really exhausting. I would try to teach you…but it takes years of training."

"Years!" Zion and Aisen chorused in disbelief. Felix nodded sadly.

"Y-Yeah, I just got the hang of it a couple of days ago…and even then…" The Elite Four member looked at his sableye, to which the little gremlin Pokémon shot back a smirk. "I can only do it with Sableye." Evelyn frowned, not exactly understanding the mechanic.

"But isn't it reliant on the Pokémon to hear the command in time?"

"I thought so too, at first," Felix confessed. "But the trainer is the one commanding and they have to understand the moment when their Pokémon is able to actually hear the command, let alone act on it. Apparently, the relationship between the trainer and Pokémon is a major factor. And Miwa has that in spades, especially with Fenrus and Qinchi." Evelyn thought about that answer for a moment. Meanwhile, a groupmate of hers took up the torch to ask the next question.

"Those are…her arcanine and kommo-o, right?" Zion asked to confirm his memory of the champion's Pokémon. He remembered her overall team but didn't remember the particularities of their actual names. Felix nodded.

"Yes. S-Sorry, I should have specified." The Elite Four sighed. "Anyways, you already know me as Felix Solberg. This is Sableye, my oldest friend. Say hello, Sableye."

"Sab," the little Pokémon chuckled. The students looked at him curiously. While hungry sableye were sometimes easy to lure out with a simple gemstone, they were still quite rare to encounter in the dark caves they called home. On a closer inspection, they noticed that contrary to the usual sableye, Felix's had an extra gemstone with a strange symbol decorated in it. They soon realized that Felix's sableye actually had his respective mega stone embedded within him.

"Whoa! Felix, your sableye has a mega stone?" Aisen asked as he leaned forward to take an even closer look. Sableye understood what the student wanted and proudly puffed out his chest to show off the stone. If possible, his smile only widened at the attention he got. Zion and Evelyn also scooted forward to examine it better. Felix blushed as he recalled the memory on how he got the sablenite. His group didn't have to know about that embarrassing scene. He thought for a bit before explaining:

"Y-Yes…he…ate it before I could stop him…" Felix chose to keep to himself how they came upon the stone in the first place. The other male trainer was not happy at all, even if Felix was a member of the Elite Four.

"It still works like that?" Zion asked curiously. From his studies and own experience, he knew that most Pokémon with mega stones often had some accessary, like a necklace, to help them carry it. While he never thought a mega stone could actually be infused within the Pokémon, with sableye that ate gemstones as a diet it was certainly possible.

Felix chuckled lightly. "It does." He didn't seem to notice the unspoken question of where his keystone was as nothing on his clothes showed the other shine of the mega stone's counterpart.

"…Isn't it painful to Sableye though?" Evelyn inquired quietly. Zion and Aisen looked at her in surprise yet she paid no attention to them. She solely focused her attention on Felix, catching his obvious flinch. From the corner of her eye, she saw how Sableye snorted in derision but allowed his trainer to answer for him. The man said nothing for a few minutes before inhaling in resignation.

"Y-Yes…that's why I avoid using it as much as possible…even if Sableye tells me it's fine, I would rather him not mega-evolve." That heavy question dampened the air somewhat as different thoughts distracted each person. Even Sableye seemed to be slightly down despite Felix's claims that he was fine with mega-evolution. However Felix quickly shook his head like a sudowoodo shaking off water. He grinned weakly but reassuringly at his group in an effort to lift the depressing cloud. "B-But enough about me! You all seem to be getting along rather well with your first Pokémon! …They are your first Pokémon, right?"

Aisen nodded vigorously. "Yup! But even though we're just starting out, me and Ryder are gonna be the best that we can be together! Right, Ryder?"

"Torchic!" the Hoenn fire starter chirped in proud confirmation. This earned a slight chuckle from Felix.

"I'm sure you will. You both have the p-potential to do it." Aisen grinned sheepishly at that as he scratched his cheek. It wasn't every day that a member of the Elite Four, one of the strongest trainers around, praised and encouraged you. "What about you two?" Said Elite Four member turned to look at the students and their Pokémon across from him. Zion smiled as he patted his popplio's head, earning a bark of delight.

"I think Sora and I are going to do the same. I want to try and beat at least nine of the gyms here. I might even go for all eighteen if I can."

Felix nodded thoughtfully at that, his eyes taking a rather wistful light. "I see…y-you do understand that once the gym leaders see that you have at least eight badges, they s-stop holding back, right?"

"Yeah," Zion said. His grin widened slightly when he saw the rather regretful look on the Elite Four member's face. He guessed correctly that his mentor was remembering his own gym battles that he had to go through in order to get where he was today. "But it's the challenge that makes it fun."

"Haha, I suppose so…" Felix said ruefully. Sableye gave his trainer a knowing look but didn't say anything. The actor then looked at Evelyn with a smile, although his expression faltered slightly when he saw how stern she still looked. "U-Um…w-what about you, E-Evelyn?" The student seemed to pause in brief thought before she responded:

"I'm not sure." When she didn't add anything, Felix finally had to look away from her cold eyes. The mood tensed somewhat as the boys also weren't sure how to break Evelyn's frigid demeanor. Surprisingly enough, Felix continued to talk to her albeit about a different subject.

"U-Um…I can't help b-but notice that…you and S-Snivy don't seem to…" He trailed off when he realized that now even Snivy was looking at him with a rather condescending expression. He flinched a little before sliding his gaze away from the both of them. While the Unova grass starter appreciated the man's reaction time, now she wasn't so sure about him again.

"Sni," she harrumphed. Evelyn looked at her starter before turning back at Felix.

"We're fine."

"E-Evelyn…" Before he could complete his thought, the intercom buzzed in. As one, the group of humans and Pokémon looked towards the speaker where the pilot reported:

"Felix, we will be landing shortly."

"A-Ack! N-Now?!" Felix panicked. "B-B-B-B-B-B-." His group looked at him rather worriedly as his hands began to tremble rather comically and his forehead glistened with sweat. Just when they thought he was finally able to relax, the universe decided to mess with the poor man even more by setting him off into a panic attack. To their dismay Sableye only laughed at his trainer's distress. The Pokémon patted the Felix's back in a rather half-hearted gesture to calm him down as the sableye continued to snicker.

"Felix, remember. Deep breaths," Evelyn reminded him. Through his fog of panic, the Elite Four member managed to hear her. He followed her directions, and soon enough, he stopped shuddering in anxiety. The man had to tighten his fists on his knees to further calm himself down.

"S-Sorry…but Miwa told each of us that we were supposed to make sure you follow certain directions on your journey t-to ensure your safety," Felix explained. "Since we're landing soon, I have to do it after the shoot, and I…have no idea how long that would be." So that explained some of Felix's panic. The students could tell how much respect their mentor had for the champion, and they could imagine how failure to do as she requested would make him fear disappointment from her.

"That's all right," Zion said in hopes to relieve Felix of his stress. "You can tell us what we need to hear at night when you're all done with your shoot. We can all have dinner together too, and I'll make sure to bring those mint berry muffins."

"Sounds good to me," Aisen added. Evelyn nodded in agreement. Felix looked from each of them before giving them another weak smile. He wondered how he was able to mentor such a good and understanding group of students.

"Okay, we'll do dinner later then…"

The sensation of the airplane slowing and dipping stopped them from saying anything else. As Zion's popplio and Aisen's torchic weren't used to the feeling, their respective trainers held onto them tightly. Snivy, on the other hand, chose to balance it out without help from her trainer while Sableye was used to such movements and had no need for aid. Soon enough, the airplane's wheels touched the ground, and Felix's group was finally in Cotidianus City.

"We've arrived," the pilot announced.

"Thank you, Sherry!" Felix said.

"Any time, Felix," Sherry said over the intercom, the smile obvious in her voice. "Careful though," she warned. "It seems as though the paparazzi got wind of your little 'intermission'." A creaking noise came from the intercom. "I can see a swarm of them coming right at us."

"EH? EH? EH?" True to the pilot's words, camera flashes began lighting up the room from the outside. The sudden lights startled the group inside somewhat and caused Felix to tremble again. Aisen rushed over to one of the windows to check. His eyes almost popped out of his head at the massive amount of reporters trying to get a brief glimpse of their movie star of a mentor. To add to his surprise, one of the paparazzi pointed towards him and an army of cameras swung their lenses at his particular window. The student stumbled backwards just in time. If he hadn't, he would have been blinded by the big bang flash now breaching that space.

"W-Whoa! That's a lot of cameras!" Aisen gasped. He looked over to his group with a grin. "That's a flash mob if I ever saw one." It was amazing that Evelyn didn't smack him for the ridiculous amount of puns he made already given how immature she thought him to be at the current moment. Instead she wondered how they could get out of the jet without being mo—swamped by the paparazzi. Fortunately the pilot seemed to have a solution to their camera dilemma.

"Haha, don't worry, Felix. Azure's on her way." Upon hearing the name of his manager, some color returned to his face and the air around him brightened quite noticeably.

"…I-I might prefer the paparazzi over her…" Felix muttered to his group in a light tone with a small smile. "But if my manager's on her way, things should be fine…"

Sure enough, barely two minutes passed and the multitudes of flash from outside stopped suddenly. A few stray ones continued to take pictures but even then it didn't take long for their invisible savior to stop the persistent cameramen. They could hear indignant cries and shouts as a woman shouted orders. It was rather unnerving to the students as they waited in tense silence. They initially thought that if anybody could stop rabid fans from taking pictures, it would have been only Miwa. Then again, the world was a big place. Finally, after what seemed like hours to them, Felix's Pokeapp went off. He picked it up even before the first ring stopped.

"You can come out now," said a rather exasperated voice. Felix blushed in slight embarrassment.

"Thank you, Azure," he whispered before he hung up. He gestured to the students to grab their things and follow him out of the jet. They did as was expected, waiting for the doors to open and finally allow them to begin their journey. As the airstair slowly descended, the bright sunlight blinded them for a brief moment. Once it wore off, they could see men in black with various machamp, hariyama, and conkeldurr herding the paparazzi away. A woman with light blue hair reaching past her shoulders directed the bodyguards herself. Some of the cameramen noticed the jet opening and tried to take more pictures but Felix's team dealt with those pests, no problem. None of the fans were hurt though the same couldn't be said for the more persistent ones. However, nobody went home with serious injuries as Felix's team was used to quelling these situations.

Eventually security managed to drive all the paparazzi away. The woman monitored them for another moment before turning her attention to her client. She raised an eyebrow when she noticed how the Elite Four member hesitated in walking down the stairs. She crossed her arms and tapped her high heeled foot. Felix got the unspoken message. He steadily made his way down, followed by Zion, Evelyn, and Aisen with their Pokémon. Sableye had skipped ahead on the rails until he reached the woman standing at the bottom. Azure didn't even look at the little goblin as she waited for Felix.

"You're late," she said once the group reached her. As expected of a manager, she dressed professionally in a gray business suit. Her stern expression only served to guilt trip Felix into apologizing profusely. Used to his overly-remorseful manner, Azure paid him no attention and looked at the students behind him. Another eyebrow raised, this time in curiosity. "And who are these children?"

"O-Oh! Azure, I would like for you to meet my…students. This is Zion, Evelyn, and Aisen," Felix introduced each one in turn. Evelyn simply nodded to the older woman while the two boys waved to her. Azure, for her part, frowned not directly at the teenagers but more at the topic Felix opened up.

"Students? Felix, you barely have enough time for yourself, let alone mentoring three students. What made you think you would be up to such a task? Besides, you already have a difficult time taking care of yourself sometimes." Azure couldn't help but sigh at her client's incompetence. Her hurtful truths stabbed at Felix almost physically as he recoiled slightly.

"I…um…" The actor lowered his eyes as he stared ashamed at the ground. Well that wasn't very nice. Zion wanted to stand up for his mentor, even if Azure was Felix's manager, therefore knowing a lot of things about him. Both Evelyn and Aisen thought the same thing, and even Sableye had a rather menacing smile directed right at the manager. However, Azure didn't miss a beat as she continued while eyeing the students now:

"On another note, I don't believe they have the potential to be a full-class actor. They don't have that same spark as you do." The taut expressions on the teenagers' faces disappeared immediately into confusion at that strange remark. Even that caught Felix off-guard, so much so that his head whipped up to look at his manager.

"Actors?" Then understanding dawned on him. "Oh, no! They're not learning to be actors! They're learning to be trainers!" Felix lowered his gaze again as he twiddled his thumbs. He explained, "Kane and Mary…they wanted each of us to mentor a group of students…and see how they do under our teaching.

"I…I did try to refuse because I knew I had movies coming up, b-but then Miwa-."

"Miwa?" Azure interrupted the Elite Four member before he could elaborate. She paused for a moment in thought before crossing her arms and sighing again. "Of course. I should have known. You can never say no to her, can you, Felix?"

The young man bit his lip and looked towards the ground once again. Although she couldn't see it, Azure knew that the blood had rushed to his face. She sighed once again, this time in resignation.

"Fine. Since your idol requested such a task from you, I suppose the only thing you really can do is listen to her. However, I'm not allowing you to travel with them. They can contact you but nothing more."

"O-Of course! T-That was the original plan! Isn't that right, guys?!" He looked towards his group for confirmation. They all nodded simultaneously. At this point, although their opinion of Felix's manager didn't improve, they appreciated that she still allowed Felix to mentor them. Granted it would be difficult considering how hectic Felix's schedule could be but they already had an inkling of it when the professors warned them that the Elite Four still had other things to do. At least, looking on a bright side, they might have more of a reason to call Miwa than the other groups, even if she could be quite frightening. Felix turned back to his manager and bowed deeply. "Thank you very much, Azure!"

Azure waved Felix's gratitude away while she checked her watch. Though her expression gave nothing away, the air around her stiffened slightly. "Enough about that. We're late enough as it is to the shoot. Come on."

"W-Wait, Azure!"

Another sigh. "What is it this time?"

"Is…is it all right to let them stay in one of my villas while they're in the city?"

At that request, she looked the students up and down more closely this time. They looked responsible enough, so she didn't think she would have to worry about them making a mess. With another sigh, she said, "…I suppose so as long as they behave themselves." Azure grabbed her notebook from her pocket and quickly scribbled something on the last page. She ripped it out, handing it to Evelyn. "That's the address," she said when Evelyn read it. "4117. I won't repeat it." The girl nodded, already committing the lock number to memory. Azure looked at Felix with a rather exasperated expression.

"Anything else?"

"And…can we have dinner with them too?"

The woman rolled her eyes to heaven, but she still said, "Yes. Now we have to go." She turned on her heels and briskly walked away. Her abrupt action galvanized Felix into motion. He hurried five paces, stopped in his walk, and turned around.

"Oh! M-Make sure you three stick together! Don't split up! I'll see you at the villa around six!" Felix reminded before turning around to catch up to his manager, Sableye trailing close behind him. Once the actor disappeared with his Pokémon and manager, the three students took some time to examine their surroundings. They stood in a large field made for airplane landings. Once they realized that, the group immediately moved towards an opening in the fence to actually enter the city. Despite some of the large buildings that peppered Cotidianus City, they were still able to see the precipitous range of the Connex Mountains in the distance. The people seemed to be quite relaxed as they took their time getting to their destinations. Soon enough the group of students and Pokémon joined the crowd to walk down some streets.

Aisen linked his hands behind his head as he glanced around his old hometown. Although he had some bad childhood memories concerning it, it aged pretty well in his eyes. The boy wouldn't mind moving back here with his family, even if some of the buildings easily towered over nearly every structure back at home. He then looked at his groupmates curiously. "So…what do we do now?"

"We need to know where the villa actually is," Evelyn responded without looking at him. Rather she concentrated on her Pokeapp's GPS where she had already inputted the villa's address. In contrast to Sora and Ryder in their trainers' arms, Snivy chose to walk alongside Evelyn while keeping an eye out for suspicious looking characters. "We'll drop our things there and shop for supplies."

"Can't we shop for supplies tomorrow? I want to check out GlameWow! Amusement Park since I heard it's the purrrfect place for trainers and their Pokémon!" Aisen laughed. Evelyn actually stopped to shoot the boy a stern look, causing the rest of the group to stop as well. The people walking behind them immediately adapted to swerving around them. She already had enough of his puns, and she wasn't going to let his childish wants get in the way of them doing what was necessary.

"No, it's better to get supplies now than later."

"We can always get them tomorrow. It's not like all the store's here are going to run out of things or anything."

"We don't know what is going to happen tomorrow. We have to get supplies while we still can."

"Oh, come on! Who knows how long we're going to stay here? We might as well enjoy ourselves for the rest of the day."

"We have to spend our time wisely. We can't waste any of it."

The two students glared at each other. Although Aisen stood five inches taller, Evelyn's hard stare was more than enough to render that advantage moot. Their argument also passed onto their Pokémon as Ryder struggled to leap out of Aisen's arms while Snivy stood calmly ready. At this point Zion stepped in before things could get any worse.

"Hey, come on, guys," he said while stepping between his teammates. "This is pretty much our first meeting as a team. There's no need to fight." He looked at them. "Why don't we drop our things off like Evelyn said and then take a tour of the city? We can have some fun exploring while shopping for supplies," he suggested. Zion looked between them in hopes that they would accept his compromise. His heart sank as he thought that his intervention didn't seem to work at all. However it quickly rose when Evelyn gave a slight nod.

"…That's fine."

"Yeah, that sounds fun too." Aisen relented. He tried to smile apologetically to Evelyn, but the girl had already turned away. Her eyes refocused on her Pokeapp to lead them to their temporary living quarters. Snivy gave Aisen a look before following her trainer. The smile disappeared on Aisen's face as he sighed in slight resignation. He jumped slightly when he felt somebody pat his shoulder. He looked to see Zion smiling at him.

"We just have to give her some time to warm up to us."

Aisen returned the smile ruefully before following his group. "I'll say. She's a real Ice Queen."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Somebody kind enough has made a wiki about this story. Here is the link: http://pokemon-judgment-and-devotion.wikia.com/wiki/Pok%C3%A9mon_Judgment_and_Devotion_Wiki  
> Though I appreciate it, I would have also liked it if you asked me permission first and let me know before making it on your own. If you are responsible for this rather generous gift, please tell me so that I may thank you properly and ask permission to edit the pages as the story progresses. Thank you.


	7. Episode 4: Caught in a Trapinch

Forrest casually strung a few mindless notes before stopping quickly. Avery had given him a rather hateful glare while smoking his pipe immensely. He noticed that the Elite Four member was in a worse mood than before the moment they took off. The pale man sat apart from the group of students and their Pokémon as the ventilation system of the plane was not fast enough to clear away all of his smoke. Despite the excess amount of smoke, Avery's chikorita, Sakura Forrest remembered the name being, seemed unperturbed by it. Or rather she was combatting it with her Sweet Scent as her leaf constantly swayed back and forth. When he was certain Forrest wouldn't play the ukulele anymore, Avery covered his eyes with his hand and leaned against his arm again. The student wasn't exactly sure how his music could make Avery's motion sickness worse but he definitely didn't want to make the man grumpier than he had to. He felt that Avery still disapproved of him with his tardiness, even if Miwa chose to overlook it.

Without a beat to keep his mind on, Forrest focused on his two teammates. They had already gone through the introductions before boarding the plane to Silex Town. Avery let them know that the aunt of Genevieve, or Vee as she liked to go by, resided in Silex Town so that they could drop little Aurora off before officially beginning their journey. The Elite Four member offered a different location for their start but they all agreed that it was a good place as any. Besides, both Vee and Marius attend Rampardos Pokémon School so they knew the settlement well enough.

However, Forrest couldn't help but feel a bit out of place with his group. For starters, the young man stood at 5' 9" with a lean and somewhat stocky body. His thin grey t-shirt with a chest pocket and olive green, long-sleeved overshirt disguised it nicely along with worn blue jeans containing holes. Brown hiking boots and an amulet coin necklace finished his outfit. Considering his hometown, Forrest surprisingly had light tan skin with freckles dotting his cheeks and button nose. His curly, milk chocolate hair, though messy, did not completely cover his dark blue eyes.

Marius, on the other hand, stood shorter than him by 2". Appearing curly in some areas, his rather wavy, black hair reached close to his jawline. At times, elfish ears could be seen underneath his hair. Compared to Forrest, the younger student had dark, royal blue eyes often with a fierce light in them. He had a small petite nose and a cupid's bow lip. Along with prominent and large cheekbones, he had prominent collarbones. He was rather skinny, made more of bones than muscle. Marius's legs were slightly longer than his arms, and he tended to arch his long body forwards rather up straight. While he initially wore a blood red blazer with a purple tuxedo shirt, black dress pants, and dress shoes, given their destination Marius had changed into a yellow short-sleeved, button up shirt and skinny jean with a pair of running shoes. Interestingly enough a necklace with two strange-looking pendants, one red the other yellow, hung from his neck.

Genevieve also seemed to cherish her image. Her clothing was simple enough: a white Cheongsam with a golden edge and slits on both sides up to her hips. She also wore black mini-shorts and stiletto boots. Her accessories numbered to a large amount as Genevieve wore a golden cuff shaped like a milotic around her right bicep, multitude of golden bracelets, and golden hoop earrings to name a few. In height she stood near Marius's. Her burgundy and amethyst hair reached to her elbows, some held in small braids. She had dark olive skin and an hour-glass figure along with a heart-shaped face and high cheekbones decorated with skillful make-up. A small round birthmark lay under her right violet eye and the left corner of her mouth, out of the way of the violet snap dragon tattoo curling around said eye. Underneath the small openings of her clothes, a long scar ran past her hips and flower tattoos bloom in reds, blues, pinks, and purples.

While Avery took to a more simple appearance similar to Forrest, his clothing supported how well-off he was with its silk material. His hanfu contained wide sleeves that allowed him to hide most things held in his hands simply by putting them together. On a closer inspection Forrest realized that various bags containing unknown substances hung from the sash tying Avery's hanfu together. Based on his Elite Four title of "The Conflicted Healer", the student could only assume that those pouches held some sort of medicine, powder or otherwise.

All in all, they were a rather strange-looking group but a group nevertheless. Despite his teammates' extravagant and flashy looks, Forrest could still feel the determination and confidence in them. Of course, he didn't have the chance to battle any of the students during the testing but that didn't prevent him from guessing his teammates' ambitions. The entire group looked up as a buzz from the intercom sounded.

"Attention, passengers. We will be landing shortly. Please remain in your seats until the plane has fully landed," the pilot announced, much to the relief of one specific passenger.

"Thank Arceus," the students heard Avery mutter aloud. The Elite Four member exhaled one last breath of smoke before extinguishing his pipe to pack it away. Though the herbs were gone, his chikorita continued to purify the air with her Sweet Scent. Forrest raised a curious eyebrow at Avery's latest statement. Usually people invoked Duewel's residential legendaries rather than the actual Pokémon god itself. However, he didn't have time to dwell on that fact as, true to the pilot's words, the group felt the vessel touch the ground soon afterward. The moment the pilot gave the okay, Avery stood up with Sakura in his arms. "Let us get going. I want to get out of this metal monster."

"Not a fan of airplanes?" Forrest teased. Avery gave him a glare, only fueling the student's teasing mood. While he knew that this would only deepen Avery's bad impression of him, the student couldn't resist the temptation. After all, constantly hearing stories about Duewel's legendary trainers made it seem like they had no weaknesses whatsoever. It was nice to know that they were still human in some regard like the rest of the Duewel populace.

"No," the Elite Four member answered tersely before turning to leave the plane. The students hurried to grab their possessions and follow after their mentor. Unlike them, he only had to carry his Pokémon and a small bag slung over his shoulder.

The moment the group stepped outside, a wind of hot air slammed into them. Fortunately everybody was familiar with this type of weather and they left the plane without much hassle. Avery waved to the pilot in gratitude. As an apology another breeze, gentler and cooler than the first one, floated through them. That same air seemed to also calm down the Elite Four member as Avery then asked Genevieve not unkindly:

"I trust that you can lead us to the house of your aunt?"

Genevieve nodded as she pointed in a direction. "It'll be this way." Her voice was soft and soothing, almost in the same vein as the wind that graced them. Avery allowed himself a smile before gesturing for the student to take the lead. She did so and the rest of her group quickly filed after her.

Forrest noticed that Silex Town did not measure up to either Lympha Town, his school town, or Bestiola Town, his residential town, in size. Despite that the air surrounding the place felt somewhat similar. It didn't take long for the student to understand why: Silex Town originated from an oasis. Multiple plants and palm trees grew all around the water, adding to the shade that the Connex Mountains already provided. The residents, more ecofriendly than most other humans, made sure to build their homes around the oasis in such a way that they didn't disturb the environment. Because of the oasis's unusually large size, the people also built docks for their boats. The buildings themselves reflected a simple design with a color a shade lighter than the sand surrounding them. While some families maintained their own small fields, off to the west side far from the Connex Mountains larger fields lay for crops.

Considering how the sun had reached its zenith, many Silex Town denizens preferred to wait inside their homes for a much cooler time. This made it much easier for the group to navigate through the streets to their intended destination. It didn't take long for Vee to lead them to a two-story building in the north residential area. She knocked on the door and waited for an answer, lightly bouncing Aurora in her arms.

After a few seconds a dark-skinned woman bearing some resemblance to Vee answered the door. Her neutral expression flashed slight confusion before melting to one of warmth when she recognized her niece. "Hello, Vee. I thought you were doing a special project for school."

"I am," Vee answered rather cheerfully before their objective changed her tone to an apologetic one. "The thing is…I would really appreciate it if you can take care of Aurora for me while I'm gone. I'm afraid it's going to be a very long project and it's going to take me all over Duewel." She knew that she couldn't mince words with her aunt. It was better to get to the point quickly and save them all time.

"…I see." Her aunt said nothing else for a few moments, allowing a rather cautious silence to stretch between them. "You don't want to take Aurora with you?" Vee bit her lower lip in response and looked away. However, before she could formulate a reasonable response, her mentor interjected smoothly:

"It is my request, Miss Morgan. While I do not doubt the ability of your niece to take care of her child, I would rather have Genevieve focus on the project without needing to worry about little Aurora. Of course," he continued, "if this is too much trouble, I can instead hire a nanny for her."

"That won't be necessary," Aunt Morgan said rather sharply. She seemed slightly miffed that Avery would even suggest something like that. "I am more than happy to look after Aurora while Vee does her project." Despite her biting tone, her frozen demeanor melted slightly at the dazzling smile Avery gave her.

"I appreciate that very much, Miss Morgan." One eyelid slowly slid down to a wink, almost causing the woman to blush. Fortunately her niece grabbed her attention, effectively calming the blood that almost rose to her face.

"Thank you, Aunt Morgan!" Vee included her thanks as she walked forward to hand her child over. "I promise to call often." Despite her cheerful tone, Forrest heard that unmistakable note of sadness. Her aunt must have heard is as well as she reassured her niece that the project would be over before they knew it and that they would reunite with each other soon.

At first Aurora resisted a bit even if she was familiar with the older woman. She clutched onto Vee's dress tightly and squealed slightly. However after a string of soothing words from her mother, the baby finally relented in allowing Morgan take her. Even then she continued to look at Vee with wide, sad eyes. Well-behaved as the baby was, she didn't burst out crying. The female student smiled reassuringly as she allowed Aurora to grasp her outstretched fingers. Seeing the moment the rest of her group looked away to give them some privacy. They turned back once Vee came closer to them. Avery inclined his head towards Morgan in thanks once again before he led his group away. The woman and the baby watched them until they disappeared, entering the comforts of the house afterwards.

With no hurry to do anything important at the moment, the four trainers took their time walking around the town. Avery glanced over to Genevieve from the corner of his eye. He knew that the student still wished that her child could travel with them. However, given the underlying nature of their true mission, it would be a dangerous undertaking indeed. No sane parent would put their child at risk like that. The Elite trainer decided it was time to get his students' minds off of their first sad farewell of the trip.

"I assume that all of you will take on the challenge of the gym leaders of Duewel?" Avery suddenly said, breaking the silence between them. He stopped in front of a clothing store out of the way of other pedestrians. His students followed suit. He looked at them with a tilt of his head. "Or do you wish to pursue a different path such as contest challenges or research experiments?"

Marius immediately replied, "I want to conquer the Pokémon League." Avery couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at that. A bold statement but not necessarily an arrogant one. His chikorita shared a similar opinion as she snorted a bit condescendingly. The action reminded Avery of the champion, and he hid a smile at that.

"I wish to beat the Pokémon League as well," Vee said softly, turning the Elite Four member's attention to her. "To become the champion." Though she didn't say anything else, Avery felt that there was more to her goal than simply just becoming the champion. The man crossed his arms to process the two students' answers for a moment. Then he looked at Forrest.

"And…you?"

Forrest shrugged. "If becoming strong means beating the Pokémon League, then I guess my goal is the same as these guys'."

"I see…" A smug smirk crossed Avery's face. "Well, do not think that the moment we meet at the league, I will go easy on any of you simply because we are mentor and student." One look at his students told him that they wouldn't want it any other way. The smirk still on his face, Avery continued, "I suppose if you wish to take on the challenge, we should begin with conquering the gym leaders. It is in our best interest to visit Rupe Desert for some much needed training. Perhaps you will be able to find a new party member for the upcoming fight as well."

"The gym leader…Piera Hilton, uses rock types, right?" Forrest asked for confirmation. His mentor nodded.

"Correct. Since you are still only beginners, she will test you with a tirtouga and archen." Avery allowed his group to ponder that information for a bit. They knew that each gym leader would use different Pokémon based on the opponent's skill level. However they had to wonder why Avery reiterated that fact when it was usually common knowledge to any student or native trainer what Pokémon any gym leader uses. With how he looked expectantly at them, they knew they had to understand something about that particular team.

They thought back to Piera's team for beginners. A tirtouga and an archen…the only common comparisons they found between the two were the same rock typing and fossil Pokémon. Granted, the tirtouga's defenses would be difficult to penetrate without a grass-type and the archen's offense would be difficult to shield against. Not to mention that tirtouga's extra water typing would cancel out normally super-effective water and steel type moves while archen's extra flying type canceled out grass, fighting, and ground type moves…Once realization dawned on them, the Elite Four member smirked. "Exactly. Considering how deceptively fragile rock types are, Piera knows exactly how to cover her weaknesses. You two," he said as he gestured to both Genevieve and Forrest, "will only have the advantage in one of those battles with your starter. Marius, of course, will have the toughest time should he not capture an advantageous Pokémon soon."

"I see…" Marius muttered in thought. He remembered that quite the number of ground types along with a few old typed Pokémon resided in the desert. If he could capture either a ground or grass type, he would at least have something to fight against Piera's tirtouga. He knew though that the archen would give him, and possibly Vee, the most trouble. Perhaps if he could find a togedemaru the battle with the first bird Pokémon would not be that difficult. Then he shrugged philosophically. The beginning of the journey didn't always have to be the easiest part. If anything, this would only better prepare him for the rough road ahead.

"Shall we get some supplies before heading out?" Avery's question snapped Marius out of his thoughts. The student quickly nodded his agreement with the rest of his group. Though each student had brought their own set of supplies, considering how they were heading out into a desert, plenty of water was required. Avery inclined his head in acknowledgement before starting towards one of the shops, the students following close behind. While the Elite Four member simply reminded them the regular necessities such as food and water, he neglected to give out any other advice unless one of them asked him directly. Instead he stayed near the entrance with Sakura to wait out their shopping. Forrest tried to wait with him, yet Avery quickly sent him off with a scowl.

"Go get a hat or something," the Elite Four member had growled. Sakura used her vines to push Forrest away. The young man shrugged indifferently and moved to do as he was told. For a little bit. When he glanced back at the entrance he saw Avery smiling coyly at two young women, both giggling to themselves. Immediately Forrest felt suspicious. As he watched his mentor the older man began a conversation with the two ladies. In mere seconds the ladies' faces deepened into a crimson coloration as their giggles became louder. Judging by their blushing expressions Avery was scoring big time with them. Sakura, on the other hand, didn't seem to have a good time. She kept flicking her leaf in Avery's face until the Elite Four member had to constantly pet her to stop her from doing so. It would have been a hilarious sight had Forrest not caught onto Avery's rather disapproving conduct.

The student had no idea that Avery was a ladies' man. Perhaps if he had been present during the testing process, he might have noticed how flirtatious Avery acted whenever he spoke with Mary. He wondered whether this behavior would impede the mentor from actually doing his job in helping his group with their journey. So distracted he was by the exchange, Forrest didn't notice Vee walk towards him until a white hat entered his line of vision. He blinked a couple of times to see his teammate smiling at him.

"It's best if you wear this hat later to Rupe Desert," the girl said. Her companion took it to examine it on closer quarters. Forrest saw how the hat had a cloth in the back to protect his neck as well as a bill in front to shade his eyes. It was perfect for traveling through the desert, and Forrest honestly expected nothing less from a denizen of Silex Town.

He smiled earnestly at her. "Thanks." Vee's smile widened slightly, obviously happy that she was able to help.

"Don't forget to buy sunscreen," she reminded gently as she made her way to the cashier. Forrest nodded in acknowledgement and began browsing the wares fairly quickly. Even then, he only bought the hat Vee handed to him. It seemed rude not to.

He was the last of his group to finish his shopping. As Forrest made his way to where Marius and Vee waited, he noticed that Avery was still flirting with the two ladies. Forrest raised an eyebrow at that. Shouldn't their mentor be looking out for them rather than looking out for women? He wondered whether he should go and tell Avery that they were done with the real reason for why they went to the store in the first place. Fortunately, the student didn't have to risk having another checkmark next to his name in the elite trainer's mental book. Vee did.

The younger student walked towards Avery and tapped his shoulder. The Elite Four member initially turned to glare at whoever dared to interrupt his time with two beautiful ladies. However he quickly wiped the glare off his face when he recognized Genevieve. Once she saw that she had his attention she said, "We're ready to go now."

"Where are you going?" one of the ladies asked before Avery could respond.

Avery smiled at them albeit sadly. "Rupe Desert. I am sorry to leave so soon, but I really must be going. Perhaps if you are free tomorrow…?" The two young women scrambled over themselves to respond properly.

"O-Of course we're free tomorrow!"

"W-We'll love to meet up again!"

"Perhaps we can do lunch?

"Yes, lunch would be ideal!"

The invitation widened Avery's smile. He tilted his head slightly and winked at them. "It is a date." That made the two women blush once again and this time they had to look away in order to not faint right then and there. Avery saved them some embarrassment by turning towards a slightly stunned Vee. "Shall we get going then?" He ignored Sakura's jealous chittering as he exited the store.

The student snapped out of her daze and nodded. She wasn't quite sure how she felt about the coquettish nature of her mentor but she honestly didn't judge. Forrest raised a slight eyebrow yet also didn't comment. Marius only shook his head as his only opinion. Regardless, the three students followed their mentor out of the store and towards the outskirts of town into the desert. At least Avery seemed somewhat professional while leading the students. As the group walked towards the sands, the cool air stayed in the oasis, leaving only hot air to batter them. Soon everyone in the group was sweating. Thank goodness they bought plenty of water, and their hats kept the sun from giving them migraines. Avery's chikorita helped with her leaf as she constantly fanned it back and forth for some brief respite. Once they were a good distance into the desert with hills of sand covering their view of Silex Town, Avery turned around to look at his students.

"I suggest you start looking for new party members should you wish to catch any." He sat down on a stone and placed Sakura next to him, although the chikorita protested slightly from not being carried. The students expected something more from the Elite Four member. When he didn't say anything else, one student had to speak up.

"…you're going to let us go, just like that, in a desert filled with possibly hostile creatures with only our low-leveled Pokémon as protection against Pokémon possibly stronger than us?" Forrest couldn't help but ask. Avery smirked. He took out his pipe and filled it with herbs from one of his pouches. He barely had to light it with the sun shining intensely as it did.

"That is correct." The students couldn't really believe what their mentor was telling them. They expected a bit more guidance, and, honestly, Avery barely gave them any guidance at all.

"…perhaps you could give us some advice on avoiding death?" Marius hinted.

The Elite Four member thought for a moment before shrugging. "Be careful." He pulled out a pokeball from his sleeves and released the Pokémon inside. Immediately a cold wind blew as the huge figure of a blue dinosaur appeared. His students were not prepared at all for the sudden change in temperature and actually jumped back in shock. Avery continued, "Unless you wish to not capture a new Pokémon or even train for a difficult fight, then it is in your best interest to leave this area. Desert Pokémon appreciate the cold as much as I appreciate the heat." The aurorus curved his head down to allow his master to pet him. His group needed no further prompting as they scrambled away from the general area plagued by the aurorus's Snow Warning ability. The last thing they heard was "Stay together and use your Pokeapps".

It was rather strange to see a freezing snowstorm in the middle of a scorching desert, further demonstrating the crazy power of the Elite Four. When they looked back for a brief moment, they saw Avery looking at his Pokeapp and his mouth moving, signaling that he was talking to somebody. Yet that display only served to fuel the three students' determination to get stronger and complete their goals. Although it didn't seem as though Avery would be a good mentor with how he simply pushed them into the deep end of the pool, they tried not to let that get to their heads. Instead they focused on their current task at hand. Even if the students' goals equated them being rivals for the top, that didn't stop them from helping each other out.

"I think it's best to find a Pokémon for Marius first," Vee suggested. The three students walked side-by-side with Vee in the middle. They kept their hands near their pokeballs in case of danger. Vee's turtwig and Forrest's oshawott wouldn't have the best of time in the arid location. While Marius's charmander wouldn't have minded the heat, he didn't want to subject his Pokémon to walk in possible discomfort like them. Vee continued, "After all, he's going to have the most difficulty with Piera."

"You guys don't have to worry about me," Marius muttered immediately after hearing that. "Type advantage isn't everything-."

"At this early point of the journey, it's best to use any and every advantage you can get your hands on," Forrest interrupted. "If you don't, say bye-bye to your trainer career." Marius sighed.

"Look, I really appreciate your help. But you guys should think about yourse-!" Before the student could even finish his sentence, the sand underneath him shifted and sank. Marius gave a shout of surprise as he slid on his back deeper into the hole. Vee almost fell in due to the caving sand. She yelped at the unexpected movement beneath her feet. However Forrest luckily reacted in time to grab Vee and pull her away from the hole. The force of the pull caused both students to fall down. Soon the sounds of shifting sand settled to leave only panted breaths.

Vee quickly regained her senses. She got off of Forrest and looked towards the hole. She gasped a bit when she saw Marius struggle to stand up. "Are you all right?!" The male student took a moment to answer. Thank goodness the sand parted into harder sand that formed a floor for the bowl-shaped pit. He stood on shaky legs and waved a hand, earning a relieved sigh from Vee. She heard a sound behind her and turned to see Forrest standing over her to look into the hole.

"…One of us should go get Avery," he said seriously. He gave Vee a sideways glance with a lopsided grin. "It's too bad that your turtwig can't use Vine Whip. Would have been useful here." She cracked a small smile at that little joke. The young woman understood that her companion didn't say that to insult her, more as a means to relax the situation. She then stood up and brushed the sand from her legs.

"I'll be back before you know it," she said before Forrest could interrupt. He barely gave a reply as she dashed off back the way they came. The group of students hadn't taken any turns so it shouldn't take too long for her to return. Forrest turned his attention back to his other groupmate.

"Did ya hit your head or anything?"

"No," Marius replied, looking up. He saw how he stood a couple of meters below Forrest's ground. The young man wasn't a stranger to being trapped like this. However he mentally berated himself for being so careless. He should have remembered that some Pokémon in the desert took refuge in the sand. It was obvious considering how vast and empty the desert hole was a bit deep to be a shelter though…

His heart sank when he heard something clicking near his feet. From above, Forrest quickly shouted a warning. Marius managed to leap back just in time to stop a trapinch from snapping his foot. The ant pit Pokémon shook the sand off of it as it fully emerged from its hiding spot. It looked over at the male student, chopping its jaws gleefully. Marius quickly pressed the screen of his Pokeapp. A white laser shot from the machine towards the trapinch.

_Trapinch, the ant pit Pokémon. It lives in arid deserts. It makes a sloping pit trap in sand where it patiently awaits prey._

He had a feeling that there was more to this hole than they initially thought. It was a trapinch's natural trap for catching food. And the student had made it just in time for lunch. Without warning, the trapinch raced towards Marius with its jaws wide open.

"Obsidian, go!" Marius threw his pokeball into the air. A flash of white, and his charmander stood ready.

"Charmander!"

"Ember!" the trainer ordered. The charmander turned around and swung his tail around, allowing the flames to fly towards the trapinch. From above Forrest couldn't help but frown when he saw that attack. Not necessarily because of the choice in attack but because of something strange he noticed. Obsidian looked like a regular charmander. However his tail flame had specks of black in it. It was occasionally difficult to see due to the oranges and reds that override it. However Forrest was certain black mixed with the common colors of fire for Obsidian. He didn't have time to dwell on it as the Ember making contact with the trapinch snapped his attention back to the battle.

The ground type Pokémon gnashed its teeth in pain. The Ember attack effectively stopped it from charging towards the trainer and his Pokémon. However the trapinch didn't need to get close in order to attack. It reared back on its hind legs and slammed its front legs on the ground. The Bulldoze shook the surrounding vicinity, bringing both Marius and Obsidian to their knees. The attack nearly made Forrest fall into the hole as well. Thankfully the young man managed to keep his ground against the terrifying attack.

Marius had to do something quick otherwise his charmander would be out of commission soon. With Bulldoze being super effective against Obsidian and able to hit from a distance, his usual strategy wouldn't work as well. When Trapinch prepared for another Bulldoze attack, the male student quickly locked eyes with the wild Pokémon. The cold glare made Trapinch hesitate, leaving an opening that Marius quickly took. He ordered Obsidian to get closer and use Tackle. The charmander slammed into the trapinch with his head, knocking it away from them. The recoil caused Obsidian to slide back while Trapinch landed backwards. Its legs flailed uselessly in the air to try and get up. Unfortunately, its heavy head made it very difficult for it to recover.

Forrest recognized that moment immediately. "Hey! If you're going to catch it, do it now!" Marius needed no further encouragement.

He grabbed a pokeball and threw it towards the upside down Pokémon. The capsule struck true on Trapinch's underbelly. The white light enveloped it before shrinking it to the size of the pokeball. The device closed and began to shake. In agreement and anticipation everybody held their breath. After what seemed like hours to them the release mechanism finally darkened and the pokeball stopped shaking.

The adrenaline of the situation finally got to Marius as he sank to the ground with a relieved sigh. Obsidian quickly jumped towards his trainer to demand praise for his work. The trainer complied earning a satisfied chirp from his starter. Forrest smiled from above. While he had little doubt that Marius could handle it, it didn't stop him from worrying.

"Good job, Marius."

"Indeed, good job, Marius," said a stern voice behind him. Forrest whirled around to see Avery approaching with an uncomfortable Vee and exasperated Sakura at his side. Despite the Elite Four member's smile, it didn't reach his icy eyes. He stopped short of the hole, looking down at Marius. One brief look and he understood that one of his students managed to catch a Pokémon, whatever it was, down there. "And I suppose that sending Vee off by herself to fetch me was also a good job on your part," Avery continued in his stern voice, the smile never leaving. Forrest stood up to explain as Marius mirrored his movement. The younger student grabbed his pokeball as well.

"We didn't have any way to get Marius out of the hole. We were hoping _you_ could help us," Forrest retorted, his emphasis on the word "you" making it clear that he didn't think Avery was doing his duty correctly. He had no idea why the Elite Four member was acting so…so vexed. The thought of Avery still bearing a grudge about Forrest being late as the cause of the man's harsh manner crossed the student's mind. However, that was too immature for somebody Avery's age, right…?

The elite trainer tilted his head to the side. Forrest was certain that if the man had his pipe right now, he would be blowing smoke in the student's face. "I _could_ help Marius out of the hole…before," and here Avery's smile disappeared to a furious look, "we all have to find a way to save Genevieve from losing her first Pokémon!" His last shouted word caused all the students and the Pokémon to flinch. Now that their annoyances faded at the true reason for his anger, Avery continued with dripping sarcasm, "In case all of you have forgotten, we have warned you to stay in groups. While it is understandable that in some situations you will be separated for brief moments in time, this is _not_ one of those situations. Rupe Desert is a perfect place for Team Annex to steal your Pokémon and fade away, leaving no chance of you to ever retrieve them."

"But-."

Avery didn't give any of them a chance to interrupt. "Yes, I understand that you had no way of helping Marius out. But have any of you thought to perhaps _call_ me on your Pokeapps? That is what they are there for." Upon hearing that, the students' shoulders all slumped in defeat. The precipitousness of the situation as well as the panic they had felt had clouded their initial judgment. They had forgotten that they were able to simply call Avery. Now that they knew that, they couldn't help but think about what might have happened if Vee had encountered Team Annex on her way to the Elite Four member. Although they didn't stray that far from him, the distance was still enough for the criminal group to pull off a heist. The girl's journey would have ended before it barely got started and none of them wanted that on their conscience.

The Elite Four member waited for another moment to let the message sink in. Then he nodded once. "Do not let this happen again," he said not unkindly. He looked down at the hole once again. "Let us get you out of there, Marius. Xatu."

In flash of green from one of Avery's pouches, the mystic Pokémon appeared though not for long. He Teleported from above into the hole below behind Marius. Before the young man could even blink, Xatu Teleported back to where the others stood. Obsidian yelped in slight surprise, not exactly used to the rapid method of transporation. Marius on the other hand managed to regain his footing easily.

"Thanks," he muttered. Avery simply smiled.

"I see you have followed my advice and captured a new team member. Is it a sandile? Or trapinch, perhaps?"

"A trapinch."

Avery rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "I see…a risk to go against the tirtouga and archen of Piera, but still a good option to fall back to." He exchanged a quick look with his xatu. They allowed a silence to stretch, something unspoken passing between them. "I suppose we still have some time left. Let us venture through Rupe Desert a bit more to see if you would like to capture some more Pokémon or perhaps simply train. This time, I will accompany you." His tone made it clear that whatever happened here would definitely not happen again on his watch. With that he walked around the hole to go further into the desert. After Marius returned Obsidian, the students hurried to follow him. As they walked, Vee looked apologetically at her groupmates.

"I'm sorry. I forgot all about the rule about sticking with each other."

"We all did," Forrest reassured her. "But we should be fine as long as we don't do it again." Marius nodded in agreement. He debated whether he should share something he thought strange when Avery came to help them. After some argument with himself, he decided perhaps he was just being a little paranoid after almost getting his leg chomped off by his newest team member. Unbeknownst to him, his groupmates had noticed as well. However, each settled with keeping their thoughts to themselves. They should focus on getting stronger now so they could deal with similar situations in the future. They didn't want to solely rely on other people if they could help it. And with the constant danger of Team Annex looming over them, they had little time to waste.

**Author's Note:**

> For various pictures on the OCs, please look up oddhellpup on DA. She has generously offered her services in drawing the various characters.
> 
> Somebody kind enough has made a wiki about this story. Here is the link: http://pokemon-judgment-and-devotion.wikia.com/wiki/Pok%C3%A9mon_Judgment_and_Devotion_Wiki


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